Hand therapy is an internationally recognized profession.
There are Congresses, educational courses, professional resources and research opportunities to globalize our profession at our fingertips.
With the advent of the Internet, we now have access to more information and have additional opportunities to join therapists from other countries in our mission to promote the profession and provide high quality treatment to our patients.
I have recently returned from the Scandinavian Society of Surgery of the Hand Congress held in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway.
This society meeting actively involves and encourages participation from both surgeons and therapists.
Where is this place you may ask?
Longyearbyen is the largest city on the Island of Spitsbergen, located on the 78th latitude in an archipelago of islands called Svalbard that is governed by Norwegian law.
It is the northernmost location in the world where a regular commercial airplane flies; sixty percent of the territory is covered in glacier and ice.
It is a place few Scandinavians will have the opportunity to travel, let alone an American like myself, and was a picture perfect venue for hand surgeons and therapists to gather.
The Congress was orchestrated beautifully by Chairmen Magne Røkkum, Jan-Ragnar Haugstvedt, and Griet van Veldhoven.
Most activities, lodging, and transportation were facilitated through Spitsbergen Travel.
The format of the meeting was a variant from what we are used to at a typical conference.
Most attendees arrived on Wednesday, March 15, and opening ceremonies were that day.
Thursday and Saturday were days full of information not to miss; enjoyed by therapists and surgeons alike.
Guest speakers included Richard Berger from the Mayo Clinic, Leonard Bodell from Arizona, Marc Garcia-Elias from the Kaplan Institute in Barcelona, Elisabet Haggert from Stockholm, and Margareta Persson (a therapist!) from Uppsala, Sweden.
On Friday there was a break from the traditional conference format for us to interact informally with our respected colleagues and establish relationships that last for a lifetime.
There were snowmobiling and dog-sledding excursions, ice cave adventures and various other activities unique to Spitsbergen.
As a group, we increased the population of the city by a full ten-percent.
You couldn't go anywhere without seeing someone you recognized!
As the Congress resumed on Saturday, there was a different air to the meeting.
We had met people and experienced things with others whom we may have not had the opportunity otherwise.
The formal meeting continued with our new friends and colleagues with a lighter air and everyone's full attention.
There was a buzz about the meeting hall with happy, creative and intellectual energy that was astounding.
The program itself was phenomenal.
There were papers and talks on brachial plexopathies, congenital anomalies, sensory mapping and cortical brain function, thermal injuries (an appropriate topic considering the location!), arthroplasties, wrist pathologies, algorithms of treatment, and new and exciting research on concepts that could change the way we treat patients in the future.
The Erik Moberg lecture was given by Dr. Richard Berger on the importance of knowing anatomy when performing hand surgery.
His talk was followed by Margareta Persson, our IFSHT President, speaking on the importance of knowing anatomy when performing hand therapy. For more information on the program and those who participated, please visit www.rikshospitalet.no/sssh2006.
There were about 180 participants in the meeting, mostly hand surgeons, but a handful (no pun intended) of hand therapists as well.
There was much talent, intellect and foresight into the future of hand surgery and hand therapy present.
It was humbling to be amongst so many leaders and innovative minds in the profession.
The discussions that took place throughout the week would sound like a foreign language to the quiet passer-by.
The knowledge exchanged will be soon implemented in our individual clinics and hospitals and will stimulate further growth now that we have all returned home from this mystical place.
So why attend meetings such as this?
They can be costly and require time in the overcommitted lives we already have.
We may lose vacation time or spend our continuing education money in one full swoop.
There are many excuses not to participate in events such as this.
The benefit of participation in these exchanges and events and the sharing of this information are paramount to the growth of our profession.
International collaboration is the future of hand therapy in a world that is globalizing around us.
As members of ASHT, we are all members of IFSHT and have access to information to help us advance our profession in a global fashion.
If you have not already done so, please visit the IFSHT Web site at www.ifsht.org.
Collaborative research studies, discussion forums, international medical mission trips and contacts to different areas of the world that stimulate us are empowering.
With committees such as the International Committee with ASHT and the IFSHT organization we can be leaders and help facilitate our collective knowledge to do great things.
Anything is possible when we open our eyes and reach out to each other across the country and globally to our international comrades.
Biography
Gretchen Kaiser, MBA, OTR/L, CHT
Gretchen is the Director of Hand Therapy for Spooner Physical Therapy in Phoenix, Arizona.
She is a graduate of the Saginaw Valley State University occupational therapy program in University Center, Michigan.
For more information on this article, please contact Gretchen at: g.kaiser@spoonerphysicaltherapy.com or kaiserg@earthlink.net.
