Dr. Ajith V @ TOPCOM2017, Malaysia

TOPCOM 2017: The 3rd International Table Top Exercise and Communication in Disaster Medicine (TOPCOM V) was held from 5th – 10th August 2017 at Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Selayang, Malaysia.

The conference was organized by the Emergency Department, Selayang Hospital & Hospital Oral Asli Gombak, Malaysia, in collaboration with Malaysian Ministry of Health. Course Director for the event was Datuk Dr Mohamed Alwi Bin Haji Abdul Rahman, Head of Department and Consultant of Emergency Medicine and Disaster Management, Seylang University Hospital, a tertiary teaching referral hospital in Seylang, Kaulalampur, Malaysia.

The tabletop exercise is a focused, comprehensive and beneficial guide that has been increasingly adopted and successfully incorporated by the various agencies of the international community. The purpose of this exercise is to facilitate constructive discussions and analysis of various emergency situations that are commonly faced – in an informal stress free environment.

The conference and workshop was officially launched by YB Dato’ Seri Dr Hilmi Bin Hj Yahaya Deputy Minister of Health, Malaysia.

The following various agencies that were invited as coordinators and subject matter experts are:

Ministry of health (KKM)
Police (PDRM)
Fire fighters (BOMBA)
SEARCCT Chemistry department (KIMIA)
Atomic Energy & licensing board (AELB)
Army (ATM)
Indian Institute of Emergency Medical Services (IIEMS).
Wilderness Medical Associates International, USA
Resus Inc (USA)
PDRM

Preconference workshops were:

CBRNE Workshop
Wilderness Medicine Workshop
Critical Care Workshop
Basic & Advanced Disaster Life Support Course (National Disaster Life Support Foundation) – Conducted by IIEMS.
Decontamination Demonstration
Tactical Medicine Workshop
Communication Workshop
USG Workshop In Disaster Medicine
Psychosocial Workshop
Humanitarian Assistance Workshop

The speakers for the event were from USA, Ireland, Canada, Japan, Malaysia and India and the delegates were from USA, India and Malaysia.

Dr. Ajith Venugopalan was invited as a speaker and subject matter expert for the Basic and Advanced Disaster Life Support course. He spoke on various topics like Natural Disasters, Chemical Disasters, Health System Surge Capacity for Disasters and Public Health Emergencies and conducted table top exercise on disaster triage. A group discussion on Emergency Operations Centre was also conducted. He was also a part of the disaster mock drill which was conducted for the delegates with moulaged victims. There were delegates who had real time experience with disaster, which added flavour to the event. In nutshell it was an amazing experience to share the knowledge with various experts in the field of disaster medicine and emergency medicine.

About Dr. Ajith Venugopalan MD(EM), FACEE, FICM

Dr. Ajith Venugopalan is the In-Charge of the Department of Emergency Medicine at MOSC Medical College Hospital, Kolenchery, Ernakulam, Kerala. He has been a faculty for various national and international conferences. He was also a co-author for few handbooks related to emergency medicine. His special area of interest is Pre-hospital medicine and Disaster Medicine.

About EMA

The Emergency Medicine Association was founded in 2015 during the INDUSEM2015 World Congress of Academic Emergency Medicine in New Delhi. EMA is the Official voice of competent Emergency Experts. Working towards provision of quality emergency care The EMA is an organized Guild of Emergency Leaders in Health and Medicine. Focused on Developing, Practicing and Progressing Emergency Medicine. EMA has a strong relation with partner organizations, individuals and institutions across the world. The EMA boasts of a strong DNA with its relationships which are geared towards potentiating growth. EMA has the support of the INDO-US Emergency and Trauma Collaborative, the Academic College of Emergency Experts in India and the Academic for Clinical Emergency Nursing in India. For More Information:www.emaindia.net

About INDUSEM

The INDUSEM mission is to envision and implement the future of Patient Care across the world. The partnership brings together Expert Educators, Inquisitive Innovators and Physicians supporting Safe Patient Care across India, United States and the World. INDUSEM is the Top International Partnership across the World and brings together Institutions, Individuals and Initiatives focused on improving patient care globally. Till date INDUSEM has reached over 50,000 Experts and its reach continues to grow daily. For more information, visit www.indusem.org

About MOSC Medical College, Kolenchery

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) Medical College Hospital is situated in Kolenchery, in Ernakulam city, of Kerala state. The medical college is a1100 bedded super specialty hospital with reputed medical and nursing college attached. Through its skilled and committed panel of medical professionals, state of the art modern investigative and therapeutic equipment’s and its strong thrust in the social welfare programmes, it has established itself as a center for excellence in the health care delivery and also in medical and nursing education.The department of Emergency Medicine under the leadership of Dr. Ajith Venugopalan is the latest addition to this vibrant Post Graduate Medical College Hospital. For More Information: http://moscmc.org/