Abstract
In the absence of Stefano Romagnoli, the meeting was chaired by Dr Sarah Caney.
Minutes of the previous meeting
The minutes of the previous meeting held on Saturday, 25 September in Dublin, were circulated to all those present who were invited to make comment on them later in the meeting or afterwards by email. Dr Andy Sparkes told the meeting that from this year, the minutes would go out to all ESFM members as a mailing, two or three months after the AGM. Matters arising Qualifications Dr Caney said that a key aim of the ESFM Executive Committee remains to have a further feline qualification, at RCVS certificate level, recognised throughout Europe. Dr Myra Forster-van Hijfte said that Europe is moving very slowly and it is unlikely that any such qualification will be available within the next two years. ESFM is in contact with Australia, where they have a recognised qualification of the standard which ESFM would like to see established within Europe (membership of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists – MACVS). Dr Sparkes outlined the Australian system in greater detail and said that some UK-based Australian vets have been able to sit their Australian exams in the UK, so doing the exam with Europe might be a possibility for vets seeking such a qualification but who are unwilling or unable to travel to Australia. Dr Romagnoli will present the ESFM viewpoint at a meeting in Poland in November.
Membership
There are currently 757 ESFM members, of which almost 350 are practice members. A further key aim of ESFM is to increase membership throughout Europe. Members will be contacted to find out if they are happy with their membership and lapsed members will be asked why they decided not to renew. Comments on membership would be welcomed from any members
Treasurer'ss report
Dr Forster-van Hijfte said the finances seem to be healthy, although not all income and expenditure has been included, eg the Antwerp Congress costs need to be sorted out. She told members that, following guidance from the UK Charity Commissioners, the financial structure of ESFM will change slightly. As a division of FAB, ESFM finances would be shown as a department of the charity and accounts would not be required. FAB will stand guarantee against future conferences.
Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery – Editor's report
Dr Sparkes reported that the JFMS is doing quite well and fulfilling a genuine clinical need. For the first time an impact factor (aka citation index) for the JFMS is available. It is currently close to 0.9 which is remarkably good. In response to a question from the floor, Dr Sparkes said that the flow rate for papers is currently fine for the six issues produced annually, although the editorial board would be happy to consider increasing the size or number of issues if more papers were available
Dates of future ESFM meetings
There will be a pre-BSAVA day in Birmingham on Wednesday, 19 April, 2006. The 2006 ESFM Congress will be held in Rome from Friday, 8 to Sunday, 10 September, 2006 and will focus mainly on gastroenterology and infectious diseases. The European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Congress 2006 will be held in Amsterdam from 14–16 September. ESFM will hold its usual cat day. The 2007 ESFM Congress will be held in Prague from Friday, 21 to Sunday, 23 September and will focus on behaviour.
Any other business
Dr Caney stood for re-election as secretary. There were no other candidates and she was voted in for a further three years. Mr Michiel Kraijer has been co-opted on to the ESFM Executive Committee to help drive forward the European membership initiatives. Dr Sparkes said that a revised version of the ESFM bye-laws will be sent out with the minutes of the meeting, for agreement at the next AGM. One of the attending members asked what percentage of delegates attending the Antwerp conference were actually ESFM members. The figure was not readily available but will be checked and circulated with the minutes. The meeting closed at 2pm.