
Welcome to the “Pediatrics between Athens and Boston” Seminar
Pediatrics is a unique medical specialty. Its practice requires compassion and patience besides general medical knowledge. More important, it enriches the physician with expertise in a constantly growing, changing and maturing individual. Pediatricians face a fast progressing human being from fetus to adolescence. Believe it or not, the family pediatrician is contributing a lot, not only as a physician, but also as an educator and adviser, and often takes the role of the child’s advocate. In our practice, we are given the opportunity to watch and admire a mature adolescent entering the real world, hopefully successful in his endeavors. It is our biggest satisfaction to view how much we offered time- wise to the family over almost two decades for the well- being of their off- springs, which of course reflects to the whole family unit.
Nonetheless, pediatrics is not only a preventive medical specialty. It includes a wide pathology with a spectrum of practically any aspect of internal medicine.
As with all other specialties today, the pediatric specialty moves extremely fast. Pediatricians are forced to follow an immense medical literature and our ability to judge and evaluate new therapies, new infectious agents, advanced technologies and introduction of genetic techniques to make it absolutely necessary to keep informed, if we wish to be in the front line of medicine for the benefit and wellbeing of our young patients.
This need for continuous new information leads particularly the young colleagues to seek new experience overseas. This is an exciting way to acquire new knowledge and to form connections and collaborations worldwide in a constantly evolving scientific environment.
This time we have the opportunity to welcome and host four distinguished physicians and friends of world recognition. They come from Boston eager to discuss problems, ideas and exchange medical information. We appreciate their presence here realizing that the distance between Athens and Boston is 4.737 miles or 7623,46 kilometers! Nonetheless, we are very fortunate to have the Mass General Hospital for Children representatives with us in Athens today! As we all know the Massachusetts General Hospital (MassGeneral or MGH) is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and biomedical research facility in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1811, it is the oldest general hospital in New England with 1057 beds. MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the world, with an annual research budget of more than $750 million. It is currently ranked as the No1 hospital in the United States. The hospital handles over 1 million outpatients each year and admits over 47,000 patients. With 14,000 employees, MGH is the largest non- governmental employer in Boston. Eleven Nobel Laureates have worked or trained at MGH!
The Mass General Hospital for children is the oldest provider of pediatric services in Boston (1821). It is a pediatric specialty hospital offering the full range of care from well-child visits to advanced treatments and clinical trials with more than 300 physicians, 50 medical specialties and 15 surgical services.
Several MGH fC subspecialties are on the top U.S. list for hospital care excellency.
We, the Pediatric Center physicians express our gratitude to our colleagues from Boston and to all of you, present today, for a fruitful seminar!
Although there is a long distance between Athens and Boston, Pediatrics is unique worldwide and Pediatricians feel very close to our Bostonian colleagues.We are happy to have you with us today.
On behalf of the Organizing Committee,
