EWMA Council: An opportunity to exchange knowledge across Europe
With 15 years of experience in wound care, vascular surgeon Ana Lamza from the Clinical hospital “Sv. Duh” in Zagreb, Croatia, now wants to use her experience to contribute to EWMA’s work as well as learn from the expertise within the association.
Ana Lamza joined the EWMA Council after being elected by representatives of the EWMA national partner organisations (Cooperating Organisations) during the EWMA conference in May in Paris. We met her at the Council Meeting in Milan in the fall for a short chat about her hopes and visions for her time on the EWMA Council.
‘’I have been working with wound healing for 15 years now, and I hope I can contribute to EWMA with the knowledge I have retained throughout the years. I have been working a lot on chronic wound problems in my country, and when you work with wound care at a local hospital, you don’t know much about the progress and challenges in other countries. I believe being a part of EWMA and the council is a great opportunity to exchange knowledge between European associations and professionals within wound care. And improve wound care in general,‘’ says Ana Lamza and continues:
‘’I have also joined EWMA for personal reasons. I believe to achieve personal growth throughout your life, you must sometimes leave your comfort zone. Great learning can come from putting yourself in a stressful situation. If you stay in the same environment, you won’t evolve. Working at a council is new to me, so this is a way to challenge myself and get experience which will add to my personal growth.”
Though new in the Council, Ana Lamza is not new to the fields of wound care, and thus knows the importance of a strong organisation supporting the healthcare practitioners around Europe to advance research and healthcare for patients.
‘’I hope to see EWMA become an even stronger organisation than it is today. As for many others, COVID has been a challenging time for EWMA – but we are still here! I believe going through times of trouble will make you stronger. For EWMA that means becoming even more present in Europe and become recognised as the leading association within wound care,’’ she says.
EWMA and the European healthcare systems has endured and largely overcome a major crisis in the COVID pandemic, and now other challenges get more focus.
“The demographics of Europe are changing a lot these years. The population is getting older, which carries with it certain challenges, as many more will need healthcare services. At the same time, a lot of people are migrating to Europe from different cultures, and many of them have problems getting the care they need. These are challenges, that members of EWMA ought to consider.”
Series: Meet the Newest Council Members
In a series of articles here at ewma.org, we will meet the members of the EWMA Council, who were elected in 2022.
The EWMA Council
The Council is the main deciding body of EWMA.
The Council decides the overall goals and strategy of the association, what projects the organisation will work on, as well as preparing the yearly EWMA Conference.
There are 20 members of the council as well as appointed representatives of partner organisations.
All members of EWMA have the opportunity to candidate for Council in the annual election held prior to the EWMA conference.
