Let's be the leaders we wished we had

The Spanish Society of Hand Surgery (SECMA) was created in 1969 and is one of the oldest monographic scientific societies in our country. Dr. Enríquez de Salamanca was the first president, and, in its 54-year history, it has had a total of 29 surgeons who have led it, all great teachers and references in hand surgery.

In the past 26th National Congress of Granada, I have had the privilege of taking over as the new president of the Society. It is an honor for me and a great professional challenge to lead a Historical Society like SECMA. It represents the culmination of 10 years of personal history at the service of hand surgery, which began with me joining Miguel del Cerro's board of directors (2013-2015) and the materialization of the project devised together with Joaquím Casañas (president 2017-2019) in A Coruña in 2016.

There have been many changes and progress in the modernization and growth of SECMA during the years in which I have had the opportunity to participate and collaborate: the strengthening of the institutional course, the scientific and international growth of the Ibero-American Journal of Hand Surgery (RICMA ), the 50th anniversary of the Society, the creation of the SECMA Foundation, the improvement of the website, the development of social networks and the global modernization of the Society.

However, we cannot settle with this. SECMA was created by 29 surgeons with great enthusiasm and love for hand surgery. We currently have more than 540 members and there are more and more professionals with growing interest in this specific area. And this aspect is the most important of a Society: the partners, who are the main objective of the new directive for the 2023-2025 biennium.

We have brought together the best professionals, the "dream team" of surgery hand in hand with the current scene, with the aim of working for the Society and its partners, based on these 4 pillars: training, accreditation, communication, and leadership. It is about making SECMA a powerful group open to all members, where everyone is represented and has a place.

The international empowerment of SECMA is key in this new project. SECMA is the 3rd society in number of members within the Federation of European Societies for Surgery of the Hand and there are many surgeons from our Society who already form part of the boards of directors and of different international societies. We have an obligation to continue working in this area, encouraging the council members to participate more in this work and having an increasingly international presence.

Training is still essential. We are going to expand training at all levels, with face-to-face, online courses, and study groups, locally and nationally. Accreditation is an important pillar of this board of directors. We will promote the Spanish Diploma of Hand Surgery (DECIM) and we will try to give it an administrative relevance and that it be considered at a professional and curricular level.

Communication is key in this project. It is necessary to create the profile of a "hand surgeon" so that patients and the administration know that there is an expert and certified surgeon to treat all aspects of hand pathology. The “SECMA” brand must be present at any public event related to the hand. It must be the reference and meeting point in everything related to their pathologies, as well as being involved in its prevention and care.

We have created the institutional relations and cooperation committee, which will establish relationships with similar societies and others at the national level, as well as work on cooperation activities with non-profit medical associations to bring hand surgery to more disadvantaged areas at a national and international level. Another novelty is the creation of a committee of young surgeons, which will represent professionals under 40 years of age, which will reflect their motivations and needs, with specific training for them, such as discussion groups and "journal clubs", and it will establish relationships with similar international associations such as YEHS (FESSH).

The objective is ambitious, but we have great enthusiasm and a great team. The objective is to make our Society grow to take it to the top, where it deserves to be due to its history and human potential. As the wise man said, let's be the leaders we wish we had. We will be there.

Pedro J. Delgado

President of the Spanish Society of Hand Surgery (SECMA), 2023-2025.

 

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No conflict of interest has been declared by the author(s).

Publication History

Article published online:
07 June 2023