Happy New Year! I know, I know, it’s a week late. But I’d at least like to acknowledge that the New Year is truly something that we all share. There are many ways to commemorate this passage of time: dropping a ball, dropping a giant peach, eating grapes, eating lentils, wearing white, wearing polka dots, wearing red underwear, smashing pomegranates, smashing plates, burning effigies or running down the street with an empty suitcase. There’s a mixed metaphor here, I’m sure, and this is my interpretation: from a shared common idea, our creativity is limitless in finding ways to celebrate. Much as David Byrne notes that time is constant with no one controlling it, our agency is what allows us to take a moment to reflect on how we got here and where we’re going.
Just a few years ago, we were reminded through a new shared common risk that we also shared a planet. We found new ways to measure, new ways to communicate and new solutions. We were also reminded of underlying problems, existing limitations and the importance of our values. The roles of preventive medicine in a global context have been embraced by ABPM through
the addition of Global Health to the Public Health and General Preventive Medicine board exam and by ACPM in its
launch of the Global Health Special Interest Group and its allocation of a
devoted Global Health Track at last year’s Preventive Medicine 2024 conference. This year we are excited to build upon that foundation at Preventive Medicine 2025 (PM2025) where the
Environmental and Global Health Track will feature three concurrent sessions, one plenary session and a skills-based workshop on decolonizing global health. The conference theme of
Moving the Needle for Preventive Medicine and Public Health is very fitting for where the work of preventive medicine lies in environmental and global health. We are heartened by the fantastic abstract submissions that we have received and that will be featured in the PM2025 concurrent sessions. Thank you all for sharing your excellent work!
I sincerely hope that you and yours enjoyed a peaceful and happy holiday season, and with you, I welcome the year ahead! I look forward to reconnecting with the ACPM community in Seattle at PM2025 and whether or not you are able to attend, don’t forget that the conversation continues through ACPM’s Special Interest Groups and online community
ACPM Pulse.
Michael Jan, MD, PhD, MPH, FACPM
Lead, Global Health Special Interest Group
