Dear Members,

I sincerely thank you for conferring on me an opportunity to lead this renowned organization for a period of one year. My predecessors have taken Bombay Orthopaedic society (BOS) to such a high standard that just to maintain it , is a major task. However, I have a group of extremely competent and sincere colleagues as executive committee members and we will do our best to leave a lasting impression.

First of all, with the concurrence of president elect, Dr. Sudhir Warrier, I propose a two year project and call it 'BOS theme' and not 'President's theme' with the hope it does not end with my tenure in office but continues as a popular academic movement.

The theme 'Documentation and research for Indian soil' is aimed at writing up our clinical material. We have a sizable but unrecognized clinical material and the only way to put it up before the world audience is to publish it in established journals. This is an achievable task through organized, ongoing efforts.

Young and middle level orthopaedic surgeons would be encouraged to take up challenging research projects. Society's fund disbursement committee will be happy to help all credible proposals. I hope to see a significant contribution to international literature by BOS members.

We plan to start the movement with a two-day workshop titled 'PUBLISH & FLOURISH' that will kick start writing and publishing activities.

Bimonthly clinical meetings, Master course and other educational orthopaedic courses and last but not the least, Western India Regional Orthopaedic Conference (WIROC) are bastions of society's activities and I propose to make them more effective and meaningful.

Clinical Meetings - The attendance at the clinical meetings is dwindling and the issue was discussed in AGM. I propose to act to improve the situation by making some changes in the protocol .

Dr. Shubhranshu Mohanty, our vice president has gladly taken over the task of coordinating the clinical meetings. Some important modifications in the format of the meetings and their conduction have been finalized with the hope that the attendances will improve and discussions will be more lively and meaningful. I will elaborate these changes from time to time in the announcements for clinical meetings.

Master Series – One of the most successful activities of BOS was started three years ago by Dr. Nicolas Antao and is a platform to discuss common topics threadbare.

Dr. Antao's astute selection of topics, his dedication to the concept, coupled with conveners' zealous teachings has made it a most 'sought after' event. Now there is a change of guard and another Guru is at the helm. Professor Vinod Laheri has agreed to take the Master series to newer heights .

Educational Courses – Dr. Sudhir Warrier, our President elect has taken on the responsibility of orchestration of various courses arranged by BOS. Under his direction, I am sure the enthusiastic and knowledgeable conveners will improve the standards and give everyone value for their money and time. We have requested all the conveners to keep a symposium on at least one day, open to all members to facilitate getting accreditation points for that course.

The event of the year – Western India Regional Conference (WIROC) is being organized by young and experienced duo, Dr. Amit Ajgaonkar and Dr. Abhay Nene.

I am sure they will leave no stone unturned to give you 'something significant to carry home'. We soon will announce more details about WIROC.

Dr. Samir Dalvie, our enthusiastic secretary has begun the process of securing accreditation for our clinical meetings and other activities.

Before concluding, I reveal that webmasters, Drs. Taral Nagda and Niraj Bijalani are designing a massive update of our website as well as regular updating. I am sure, you all will get addicted to visit the site day after day.

Finally, I have a request to make do partake in BOS activities – please communicate; convey your suggestions and criticisms by email to BOS secretariat.

Yours truly,

Dr. Vikas Agashe

President, Bombay Orthopaedic Society