Excerpt from President's Piece
Alison Baker does a review over the last 20 years of the NAC
in her President's Piece but the NAC Executive would like to draw
your attention to her discussions regarding the future of Cytology
and the NAC. The next paragraphs are drawn directly from her President's
Piece from April, 2009.
The future of Cytology, including that of the NAC itself, is a subject
that has fuelled much discussion within the Executive. Those of you
who worked in the field for long enough will remember that twenty
years ago there was no association or society that was open to Cytology
Screeners. The BSCC was only open to medical staff and very senior
BMS staff and the IBMS only to State Registered BMS staff. This left
a large gap for cytology screeners and was one of the primary reasons
for the NAC's formation. Over the last twenty years the NAC has successfully
represented cytology screeners along with all those with an interest
in Cytology regardless of staff grade. The NAC Executive has been
involved in numerous areas, always mindful of all grades of staff.
Times change however, and societies change with time. Attitudes within
and between staff groups evolve and we have moved into an era where
different staff groups regard each other with mutual respect and enjoy
much closer links than in the past. The introduction of LBC has resulted
in huge changes within laboratories and in particular a reduction
in staff of all grades. Looking to the future with an aging workforce,
automated screening, HPV testing, and with the reconfiguration of
laboratories on the horizon it would appear that a further shrinkage
in the workforce is likely. We can only hope this is by natural wastage
rather than compulsory job losses. Medical staff recruitment and training
has also changed and has resulted in fewer specialist Cytopathologists.
Mindful of this backdrop it is therefore appropriate that the future
of the British cytology societies is examined. The NAC and BSCC have
begun preliminary discussions to explore the possibility of forming
a single association/society in the future. It is immediately evident
that there are a number of problems, some of which have no easy solution.
These include the fee structure of any such joint organisation - currently
membership of the BSCC is £130 compared to the £30 for the NAC.
It is recognised that many NAC members, particularly the lower paid
cytology screeners, would be unwilling or unable to increase their
contribution but it is also apparent that the current BSCC subscription
is related to a contractual agreement with Wiley-Blackwell, publishers
of the highly respected journal Cytopathology. What is agreed that
a future association/society should be open to all grades of staff
and that there should be no restrictions or bar to executive member
status. However, it is also recognised that strong medical representation
on the executive would be desirable, thus maintaining links with the
Royal College of Pathologists.
I must stress that these are only preliminary discussions. We will
of course keep you all fully informed of progress. No action can be
taken without the support of both association/society members. It
would require the dissolution of both organisations and the creation
of an entirely new body with a new constitution and a new name before
any proposed merger could be finalised. We have further meetings planned
in March and June and I will report on any developments at the Annual
Scientific meeting in Keele. Meanwhile please feel free to contact
any of the executive with your thoughts and views on this possible
future development.
Alison Baker April 2009
Please don't forget the Forum.
Please put any thoughts or concerns on the NAC Forum http://www.nac.org.uk/members.php
and we will do our best to answer you and keep you up to date of any
developments. This is a really important venture and we really would
welcome your views.
WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE
that registration for NAC2009 is now open. Please follow this link
to register your place
https://www.keele-conferencemanagement.com/nac09
or this
link if you prefer to book manually rather than electronically.
We look forward to seeing you in Keele for what promises to be one
of our best conferences yet
As it’s the NAC’s 20th Birthday, the theme for Friday night is
1989. What were you into and what were you wearing!! Please find
attached a list of films, events and music from this era to help
inspire you
Please
follow this link for a list of events and films.
| The National Association of Cytologists acknowledge
the support of its sponsors for the Continuing Education Certificate.
|