Presidential Address

Abstract

I would like to personally welcome all of you to the opening session of the 43rd annual meeting of the American Burn Association (ABA). This has been an exciting year of challenges, opportunities, and advancements. During the past year we have Last fall I had the opportunity to visit the five regional burn meetings—the Eastern Great Lakes Regional Burn Meeting in Cincinnati, the Western Regional Burn Meeting in San Francisco, the Midwest Regional Burn Meeting in Madison, the Northeast Regional Meeting in Providence, and the Southern Regional Burn Conference in Memphis. Each has its own unique flavor and approach to providing an opportunity for scientific discussion and collegial networking. All allowed time for intellectual and social interaction which only a small meeting can accomplish. Most of these meetings lasted a day and a half to two days, and many were within driving distance of the represented burn centers. ... Eight hundred sixty-one individuals attended these sessions (Figure 1). Forty-two percent were nurses, 19% were physicians, and 39% were other members of the burn team (Figure 2). For many people, this was their first opportunity to present before an audience outside their own institution. For others, it was their first time to attend a burn meeting. For some, it was an opportunity to present a paper in anticipation of having it accepted at the annual meeting of the ABA. I'm sure that the input of the attendees at the regional meetings was quite valuable to the authors. All sessions allowed ample opportunity for discussion of the papers presented.