Comment / Study support

I am delighted to be able to inform all members of the availability of five new bursaries of up to £1,500 for any member who wishes to travel to study internationally.

The way the scheme works is that you investigate a particular country, make contact with healthcare finance professionals in that country and then develop a short proposal about the type of research you want to do. Once this has been agreed and verified, you undertake the trip and write up the report for HFMA.

This year, we have allocated £7,500 from the association’s research funds for individuals who want to organise a study tour abroad. We would be very interested in hearing about projects that have sought to engage clinicians in the financial management of organisations, as that is a current theme for the association. If you want to discuss this further, please e-mail me [email protected]  Please note, it must be a unique, self-organised study, not one organised as part of another programme.

Recently, I sent out details of the next UK/US exchange, which takes place in July this year. This exchange is a special event for two reasons. Firstly, while the work placement part will take place in the US as normal, the second part of the exchange will take place in Canada, whose health system will come under close scrutiny. A second reason why this exchange is special is because this is the last event at which we will have a three-day conference.

The 2009 exchange will consist of the workplace pairing and a one-day meeting in London in July 2009. This will be a lot cheaper as an event for the delegates and it will retain the most important part of the learning experience – the work place visits.  Please e-mail Hannah Jack for more details [email protected]

The other international opportunity available is a trip to Russia, which will take place between 6 and 13 September to learn more about the health system there. In this case, we are buying into an organised trip which the US HFMA is running. We already have a few people signed up and, of course, I am happy to supply the detail, although I will need to know by the end of March.

On a related note, please also find enclosed with this issue the annual conference early booker form. I am delighted we have been able to secure fertility expert Lord Winston as our keynote speaker. I am sure his vast NHS experience and other insights will cap the Friday session off perfectly. We have produced a great core programme, but are still working on the details. Look out for more confirmed speakers as the months go on. The early booker will also mean you get some money off the programme.

Please sign up today to secure your place as we will have to ration the various packages this year because of the numbers wanting to attend.

On a final note, please be aware that HFMA membership is free until the end of June. Tell a friend or contact Jana at the HFMA office [email protected]