Farewell from the WONCA editor, Dr Karen Flegg
After 103 issues and over 10 ½ years it’s time for me to say farewell as your WONCA editor. There is always sadness with a farewell, however this year, I have seen none of my WONCA friends face-to-face, so I can only look forward with excitement, to seeing you again at a WONCA conference, in the future.
It’s been an honour to serve WONCA as its Editor, since May 2010, as it allowed me to get to know so many fantastic and amazing colleagues and to learn about family medicine and its variations around the world. I was warned that it was tough to get enough news but I’ve never found this, which is a tribute to all those colleagues who have sent me their stories, over the last 10 years. I hope I have contributed to the promotion of family medicine worldwide through my efforts.
I would particularly like to thank Garth Manning, who has been my boss and a huge support for me in this role for the past eight years. I acknowledge it’s never easy managing colleagues, especially ones with opinions! I think we’ve made a good team promoting WONCA activities through both WONCA news and the website which I inherited in 2012. I wish Garth well in his new life after WONCA CEO.
I’m also grateful to the translators who have enabled us to translate our presidents’ messages in particular, in order to reach a wider audience: José Miguel Bueno and Pere Vilanova have done the Spanish translation on behalf of our Spanish organisation semFYC; Josette Liebeck, a friend of mine, not connected to WONCA who has done the French translation for five years now; and Ella Lee who has translated Donald Li’s column into Chinese during his presidency.
In September this year, for my 100th edition of WONCA news, I wrote
a reflection on ten years as Editor which you can read. I’ve also collated
reports and photos of various WONCA conferences last month.
And there’s two new photo collections with this farewell message - thanks for the positive feedback I received about my other recent photo collections… I promise that next conference, I will leave my camera at home!
Editor's pick: favourite photos
Editor's pick: WONCA memorabilia
I look forward to the possibility of pursuing other roles in WONCA in future and becoming more active in some of the Working Parties and Special Interest Groups.
Until we meet again
Karen Flegg
Reflections
Editor's 10 years and100 issues story - September 2020Editor's pick: reports and photos of WONCA conferences
Other photo collections
Editor's pick: Garth Manning as CEO
Editor's pick: photos of individuals
Editor's pick: photos of groups