ABOUT TRS

Founded in 1970, Turkish Respiratory Society (TRS) is the first expertise Society including 1400 members working on area of chest diseases. Our members are specialists and assistants of chest diseases, chest surgery and physiology as well as tuberculosis dispensary physicians and other scientists working in other branches.

Main objective of the Society is to “protect lung health of Turkish society by supporting societal and occupational education and researches”. Turkish Respiratory Society has been continuing to develop since the date of its foundation and grow by gaining acceleration with addition of institutionalization to the conventional educational activities. In recent years, main policy of our Society is formed to become more participatory, open to change and also to give more importance to “Communal Education." Our understanding of a basic Society is to “show respect to all of the members and to use all of the opportunities to functionalize everyone under their desired positions.”

Turkish Respiratory Society has been supporting education about all branches in relation to chest diseases for 40 years and organized 30 National Congresses and many congresses and symposium with international participation. Our Society hosted an international chest disease congress in Turkey for the first time with the collaboration of American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) in 2003 with the participation of more than 100 international speakers and many colleagues from our country under the name of 17th Asian Pacific Chest Diseases Congress (APCDC 2003). TRS enabled our physicians to meet a lot of worldwide famous experts with its organizations and it will continue its organizations.

Regional activities are started through establishment of TRS branches in cities of Ankara, İzmir, Samsun and Erzurum. It is planned to increase the number of TRS branches and preparations have already started. Also, 13 work groups continue working actively. Every day, you will hear more about TRS branches and education activities planned by work groups. Eight TRS Regional Symposiums have already been performed planned as a full day graduation education program in various regions. These meetings will continue periodically.

6 issues of “SOLUNUM” journal are sent to members each year. Also, first volumes of TRS Books will be in your hands soon. “COPD Report” has started to be published four volumes a year as an activity of COPD work group. In addition, a poster for informing the community about COPD disease was distributed to health care centers and hospitals by the Ministry of Health as an activity of COPD work group.

AKACAM (www.akacam.org) project which is about informing the patients about the use of inhaler devices is in effect. With this program, informing patients is provided by nurses educated for this purposes in toll-free phone calls. Therefore, an educational gap for patients that result in misuse of inhalation drugs is filled.

Regulation to provide a monetary support for scientific research projects is completed and announcements will start in a short time.

With the “TRA Academia” project which we continue to prepare and plan to put into effect this year, we will be open for expansion by certificate programs, regional education activities for experts, international education programs in collaboration with international associations, scholarships for short-term advanced education in other countries, and paramedical development programs.

You can refer to web page (www.solunum.org.tr) of Society to find more information about Turkish Respiratory Society. Also you may contact society head office for your questions, recommendations and thoughts through e-mail (info@solunum.org.tr).

Carrying the mission by an expert association, TRS has an aim of meeting the necessities for communication and education of physicians as well as the personal rights of the physicians working in the area of chest diseases and their problems associated with their occupation. Communication between members of the Society is established by tusad@yahoogroups.com and membership applications can be performed on-line, members can reach to their personal page through WEB site and make required changes.

In addition to participating in social projects, the Society cooperates with various non-governmental organizations to make their members participate in social sensitivity activities and therefore contribute greatly to those organizations.