ACR & Emirates Society of Rheumatology Produce Education Conference

Looking Forward

A crystal globe was presented to Dr. Waleed AlShehhi, ESR president, to commemorate the partnership.

This meeting reflects the reality that rheumatology is truly an international specialty. This point is evident at the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting, where participants from around the world account for more than 55% of attendees. The ESR-ACR meeting provided the opportunity to bring the high-quality educational content provided by ACR members to an audience that may not travel to North America. The meeting is also aligned with current ACR strategic goals, which include addressing the needs of international rheumatology professionals. As Dr. Lakhanpal said in his 2017 ACR Presidential Address, “the world is one family.”

The intriguing city of Dubai provided the perfect setting for this historic meeting. Here, the modern and breathtaking sights of new Dubai combined with the long history of civilization exemplified by the spice souks of old Dubai and the stark beauty of the desert underscore the fact that as change rapidly overtakes our old ways of doing things, we have much to learn from working together.

To further our mission of empowering rheumatology professionals to excel in their specialty, we believe this collaboration with the ESR provides an outstanding model wherein physicians and health professionals can obtain top-quality content as well as network and engage with international colleagues and thought leaders. We thank the Emirates Society of Rheumatology for its partnership and collegiality in this endeavor, and we look forward to our next meeting.

David Daikh, MD, PhD, is professor of medicine and director of the Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program at the University of California, San Francisco. He is also chief of the Rheumatology Division at the SFVA Medical Center and directs its Arthritis and Rheumatology clinic. He is the immediate past president of the ACR.

Paula Marchetta, MD, MBA, is a rheumatologist and the CEO and managing partner of Concorde Medical Group, affiliated with NYU Langone Health. She is a clinical professor at NYU School of Medicine and the ACR’s 82nd president.

Sharad Lakhanpal, MBBS, MD, is in private practice at Rheumatology Associates and a clinical professor of internal medicine at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, both in Dallas. He was president of the ACR from 2016–17.