History

History of the Nepalese Doctors’ Association: Annual General Meetings since establishment -

Dr. Dhiraj Tripathi

The first ever get together of families of Nepalese doctors in the UK was in Chesterfield in 1984. There was a good turnout, although the event was just for one night. It was clear that there was enough support to plan further meetings. The second meeting was held in London 1985. The first formal assembly of the executive committee was in 1986. Subsequent meetings are detailed in Table 1. As more and more doctors became aware of the NDA, membership increased and now exceeds 100. Over the years, the annual general meeting (AGM) became a 3 day event due to popular demand. We all remember the entertaining cultural programmes of Friday night! The scientific session also became a regular addition to the timetable, with fantastic talks from external speakers highly regarded in their field. In recent times, the scientific session has been a platform for presentation of original audits and research from Nepalese doctors including those in training. For many the highlight was the gala dinner on Saturday. The attendance for this event was over 200 in some cases. The atmosphere at the AGM’s has always been relaxed with much emphasis on the social aspects. For some the AGM was the only opportunity to catch up on the events of the year. Having been in the organising committee of 2 previous NDA AGM’s, I am very aware what a major undertaking it is. The NDA celebrated its 25th anniversary due to the very loyal support of members and their families over the years. I am sure the future of the NDA is secure, and would like to encourage particularly trainees to take an active role.

Table 1: Details of annual general meetings of the NDA (UK).

YEAR	VENUE	CHAIRPERSON
1986	Durham University	Dr Prem B Hamal
1987	Birmingham University	Dr Prem B Hamal
1988	Manchester University	Dr Tej L Shrestha
1989	Heriott Watt University, Edinburgh	Dr Tej L Shrestha
1990	Thames Polytechnic, London	Dr Narayan R Joshi
1991	Eaton Hall International, Notts	Dr Narayan R Joshi
1992	Sunderland University	Dr Prasanna Gautam
1993	Loughborough University	Dr Prasanna Gautam
1994	Salford University, Manchester	Dr Basant Shrestha
1995	Ranmoor Hall, Sheffield University	Dr Basant Shrestha
1996	Heriott Watt University, Edinburgh	Late Dr Ramji Gautam
1997	Aston University, Birmingham	Late Dr Ramji Gautam
1998	Greenwich University, London	Dr Chuda B Karki
1999	Cardiff University	Dr Chuda B Karki
2000	University of Surrey, Guildford	Dr Achyut Dhital
2001	Loughborough University	Dr Achyut Dhital
2002	Holiday Inn, Birmingham	Dr Bhaskar Sharma
2003	Durham University	Dr Bhaskar Sharma
2004	Durham University	Dr Keshar Lal Shrestha
2005	Lancaster University	Dr Keshar Lal Shrestha
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011	Hotel Ramada Watford Hotel Hilton, Aberdeen Holiday Inn Rotherham, Sheffield Hilton Cobham, Surrey Marriott Hotel, Leicester Future Inns Plymouth	Dr Madan Sharma Dr Madan Sharma Dr Prasanna Gautam Dr Prasanna Gautam Dr Phauda Thebe Dr Phauda Thebe