EFIM General Assembly - Thursday 1 September 2016, Amsterdam

We would like to thank all the members who joined us at the General Assembly in Amsterdam.
This year’s General Assembly was held on 1 September at the Beurse van Berlage in Amsterdam, in conjunction with the 15th European Congress of Internal Medicine, the first ever congress entirely organised by EFIM.

65 Board members, young Internists and members from 25 EFIM member countries were present at the EFIM General Assembly. The meeting started off with a warm welcome to the participants by the EFIM President, Dr. Frank Bosch. The Treasurer, Antonio Martins Baptista, presented the current financial affairs where EFIM accounts for 2015 and the budget for 2017 were approved. The next item on the agenda was election of Treasurer and President-Elect. Antonio Martins Baptista was unanimously re-elected to the position of EFIM Treasurer for a further 2 years. Dr. Baptista thanked the General Assembly members for the trust given.

Prof. Nicola Montano, the only candidate for the position of President- Elect, was unanimously elected and joined EFIM Executive Committee. Prof. Montano is a past director of ESIM Summer and a former member of the Executive Council of the Italian Society of Internal Medicine. Next, the EFIM President, Frank Bosch handed the presidency to Runolfur Palsson reflecting back in EFIM history by conveying a word of gratitude to all Past Presidents of EFIM, who devoted time and effort to shape and promote the organisation through the years. Runolfur Palsson, the new EFIM President, acknowledged the great contribution of Frank Bosch, to EFIM as well as stressing the need for further development and progress.

Frank, Runolfur and all the EFIM members congratulated Nica Cappellini for the dedication and support she has given to EFIM over the past 6 years as she left the her position of Past President.

Prof. Pier Mannucci, Editor-in-Chief of the European Journal of Internal Medicine, presented the progress of the Journal during the past year and informed the members about the decrease in the impact factor to 2.591. EJIM now ranks 30th of the 153 journals in the category Medicine General & Internal.  Dr. John Kellett informed the members about the success of the European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine. Applications to host EFIM winter schools were received from three national societies, those of Slovakia, Greece and Finland. Despite strong presentation from all candidates, the overwhelming majority of votes went to the Finnish society of Internal Medicine. EFIM would like to congratulate Kim Petterson- Fernholm for presenting a great bid on behalf of the Finnish society and is looking forward to attend the winter school in Lapland. Numerous additional items were discussed and presented during the General Assembly, including the progress of the European Curriculum Project and future EBIM activities. Prof. Serhat Unal presented a progress report from the ADVICE working group and encouraged more members from EFIM to participate. Progress reports were presented for the upcoming summer and winter schools as well as the activities from the FDIME and the Young Internists. Nica Cappellini gave a brief overview on the development of the 2017 European Congress of Internal Medicine in Milan, inviting members to mark the dates and encourage attendance to the congress through their societies.

The General Assembly concluded with the announcement of the next General Assembly in Milan in conjunction with the congress and EFIM Day that will be held in Brussels on 17 March 2017.

Finally, the EFIM General Assembly members gathered for a boat dinner and a wonderful cruise enjoying beautiful Amsterdam