General Paediatric Theme for 44th Annual Congress in October
Good day and Salam Sejahtera to esteemed members of MPA, Friends and Colleagues!
I guess it’s not too late for me to wish our Chinese friends “Gong Xi Fa Cai!” May the Rabbit hop into your lives with Peace, Prosperity, Happiness and Good Health.
My dear friends, our 44th MPA Annual Congress will be held from 12 to 14 October at KLCC.
The 44th MPA Congress
Our theme this year is “Hearts, Lungs and Minds”. Apart from dealing with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, we will also discuss the often-neglected part of mental health. Mental health has always taken the second seat, especially for children and adolescents. We need to address these issues in detail, and our scientific programme is aiming towards that, with exciting and latest news and development on mental health, suicide and autism. Please block your calendars on 12-14 October 2023.
New development
As part of a continuing education programme for our young doctors beginning their careers in paediatrics, we will start a monthly webinar on common paediatric topics. This webinar is to help and guide those preparing for examinations (MMed and MRCPCH). It will be an hourly session dwelling on essential aspects of common diseases (getting it right for your exams, both theory and clinical). The first session will be aired on the fourth Saturday of March 2023. This session is only for members. If you’re not a member yet, please join MPA now.
Ongoing programme
Good news for the nurses, we will be returning to our physical nursing lectures, hopefully, after Hari Raya. As previously, we will do this in smaller towns to ensure our nurses, both in the district hospitals and clinics, will benefit. Our focus is only on the growth and nutrition of children, as well as vaccines and other common paediatric topics. We will announce the venues and dates soon.
Of late, we have heard lots of cases of child abuse in the news. MPA has already voiced its stand on this issue and will keep pushing all stakeholders to implement more robust and sustainable programmes to reduce the numbers and prevent them from happening.
Thank you for your continuous support. For my Muslim friends and colleagues, my very early Ramadhan wishes to all of you.
Selva Kumar Sivapunniam
President 2021-2023
selvakumar.sivapunniam@gmail.com