On the 11th of September I finished up in my duties as ITI UK and Ireland Communication Officer.
I handed the post on to the very safe, enthusiastic and innovative hands of David Nelson of Cranmore in Belfast who will undoubtedly take the position further and higher than it is now.
I thought it was worth just sharing a few experiences of the ITI through my time as Communication Officer from 2011-2014 and what I have seen from inside on the Leadership Team of the UK and Ireland Section.
The ITI in my view, remains the foremost implant organisation in the world for people who are interested in providing ethical, quality care for their patients. It is the organisation for people who wish to benefit their patients from advances which are scientifically verified. In a world that is ever changing and where it is almost impossible to keep up with any specialty in dentistry an organisation with deep seated principles in evidence based dentistry and patient care is a welcome ally.
The organisation worldwide has more than 15,000 Members and Fellows but it’s hard to see that there is a section amongst the worldwide sections which has done more to promote the organisation and develop it than the UK and Ireland section has done over the past 5 years. Many of the initiatives that have been taken on globally by the ITI were started in the UK and Ireland Section. It's laughable to think that I had an "ITI Study Club" in 2004 which was based at Pride Park in Derby before the concept of global ITI Study Clubs arrived. It’s now possible in the UK and Ireland to attend over 200 Study Clubs per year free of charge (as a Member) on almost any subject in implant dentistry.
In October 2014 the Global ITI will launch the ITI online academy. It looks likely that this will become the premier online learning resource for implant dentistry and the snapshots that I have seen in advance are absolutely spectacular. All the credit for this should be given to Charlotte Stilwell the Education Delegate of the ITI UK and Ireland Section for the last five and half years who has driven this project globally and has quite rightly been rewarded with the status of Editor.
Many other things have happened over this time; we have initiated an investigation into Immediate Full Arch Loading and attempted to provide systematic reviews on the subject with a huge group of people in five different groups only to find there was insufficient evidence on this to make a judgement. We hosted Congresses and have another fantastic Congress planned in 2015 in Kings Place in London.
My time now has passed and I move onto other things I am delighted to look back at the time we have spent together as a leadership team and things we’ve tried to achieve and I am very proud of what we have done. My contribution was very small compared to some of the giants around me but it is nice to get to the end of a project and feel like you gave it your best shot.
If you are involved in implant dentistry, join the ITI you can do it here.
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