Description

This first issue of the CME Bulletin in Haematology represents a new departure in continuing medical education in our specialty. We are all familiar with the MCQ papers that the College offers us yearly together with those CME diaries that offer us hope of salvation with the new millennium! Although we all depend heavily on our reading of the literature to keep up to date, this bulletin now provides a structured way for you to earn CME points from distance learning. Each issue contains an MCQ questionnaire based on the review articles in that issue and a more than 80% correct score will earn 3 CME points. No record is kept of the individual answer sheets.

The Bulletin will appear initially three times yearly. Its current layout is modelled on a format used in issues that have appeared in Medical Microbiology, ENT and Dermatology but this is far from immutable. We will continue to base the contents on concise topical reviews and case reports with a high educational content. Increasing access to the Internet means that we all need to keep abreast of the most useful web sites, especially now that increasing numbers of journals are becoming available on this medium and we welcome comments and new sites that readers have found useful. As in this first issue, we will continue to publish reports on international meetings and abstracts of what our editorial board consider to be some of the most exciting original papers appearing in the literature. We are anxious to use this Bulletin also in the more literal sense of its title to publicise professional activities. I am delighted that the Haematologists in Training group have agreed to use us as a means to inform trainees of their activities as have the London Haematology Club. I believe that other more or less formal groups of trainees are organised around the country and I would very much like to hear from them if they would like a broader publicity for their activities.

This is a new venture and we would like to receive feedback from you, our readers, with suggestions and comments.

There are increasingly few publication possibilities for interesting case reports and the Bulletin welcomes contributions of this sort. Although our review articles are mostly commissioned by the editorial board we would also be happy to consider such contributions or indeed others relating to training, managerial or medico-legal issues. We have organised a launch meeting, Haematology 98, at the College in January. The programme is an exciting and wide ranging one (see the advert on page 28 and a registration form is included as a flyer) and will also offer an opportunity to introduce ourselves to at least some of our readership and gain your 5 CME Credits.

See you there!