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ABC Travelling Fellows 2008 Diary Fifth stop: San Francisco 8 May to 11 May
Thursday 8 May It was pretty brutal getting picked up from the hotel at 0430, and then spending 2 hours in yet more queues. The addition of customs and passport control, as well as Dominic Meek getting the now traditional rub down from the trainee security guard meant that we very nearly missed the flight. The charming gate host won lots of friends (that’s irony, right?), but we made it. Squeezed onto the plane, a few snores soon issued forth and then we were in the USA for the first time. Dr Ted Miclau had had a little local difficulty with the van, but picked us up without further mishap and took us to check in at the hotel. After a quick turnaround, we headed to the Mission Bay Conference Centre. The fellows were to be presenting papers as part of the Leroy C. Abbott Society 53rd Annual Scientific Programme and the 29th Animal Verne T. Inman lectureship. After a splendid lunch, and meeting local faculty, including Dr Tom Vail, Head of the Residency Programme, as well as Dr Daniel Berry of the Mayo clinic, the fellows finalised their talks. One worrying thing to note was that the audience were to be asked to grade all presentations, so bribes were prepared. The afternoon began with the prestigious Verne T. Inman lecture, an excellent talk on the current state of paediatric orthopaedics by Dr Steve Skinner, detailing his concerns about the loss of conservative skills and the rise of surgical orthodoxy. Perhaps these trends are beginning to reverse, but the problems of obesity and under insurance are certainly getting worse. This was followed by resident presentations with a health economics flavour, and discussion on health care delivery and managed care. The last session of the afternoon saw three ABC presentations, before a return to the hotel. After a rapid turnaround, we headed out onto the busy streets of central San Francisco. After an excellent dinner at Rose Pistola and visit to the local hotpots with Dr Miclau, it was off to bed.
It's all about the talks Friday 9 May The remaining four fellow presentations kicked the morning session off, followed by the scientific session of the 53rd Annual LeRoy C. Abbott Visiting Professorship Programme with some high quality presentations, rounded of by the eponymous lecture (on bearing surfaces in hip arthroplasty) by Dr Daniel Berry of The Mayo Clinic. In the afternoon, we were taken on a tour of the city by Ted Miclau. We also saw his research facility and surgical skills lab, which made us all very envious. From the top of Twin Peaks we could really see the layout of the city, and then we travelled back to the hotel via Haight Ashbury, still the heartland of hippy culture. A very beautiful city.
The fellows at the UCSF research facility
The surgical skills lab Saturday 10 May The following day 6 of the fellows clambered into a limousine to a tour of the Napa Valley, with a very nice lunch at Aubrge du Solei (Never drink anything with “diet” in the name). We were dropped off at Sausalito and took the ferry across the bay, past Alcatraz and The Golden Gate bridge, and on to the city. In the evening we met with Ted and Kirsten Miclau and family for a Hip-Hop Circus performance - quite an eye-opener, as we had not appreciated that joints could do those things! After visiting selected hostelries, it was off to bed and ready for the departure to San Diego. We have been royally looked after in beautiful San Francisco, thanks particularly to Ted Miclau. Our apologies to Kirsten Miclau for keeping Ted out after his normal bed time.
Alcatraz
Sailing towards the Golden Gate Bridge
The effects of ABC
Enjoying hospitality at Opus one
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