The 'Weekend rendezvous" - an attractive terminology put forward by a few dynamic and active committee members was initially intended as a small-scale teaching and updating of current knowledge in various paediatric infectious diseases. As it turned out, the event organised on 3-4 May 1997 at the Blue Bay Resort in Lumut, Perak became a big event with 100 participants (61 doctors and 34 nurses from all parts of the country). Ten speakers and 8 committee members made up the total head count at 120. The Armed Forces Medical Corp with Lt Col (Dr) Wan Fauzi, Lt Col (Dr) Zulkifli Abd Rahman (ENT), Maj (Dr) Khairuddin and Capt (Dr) Halim did the groundwork of organising the venue and the social programme.

The first agenda of the weekend was a visit to the first and only hyperbariic oxygen chamber in the country. Located at the Military Hospital at Lumut Naval Base, it is a huge tank (about 50 times the size of Michael Jackson's chamber!) which can house a maximum of 16 persons who can be put under pressure for up to or beyond 15 atmospheres and supplied with pure oxygen. The main use is for the treatment of the "bends" in divers who ascend too rapidly but it is also used as adjunctive therapy for non-healing ulcers, carbon monoxide poisoning and even convalescing myocardial infarction! With this equipment and the trained personnel (numbering more than 20), the Armed Forces have called this the Institute of Hyperbaric Medicine and Underwater Research - the first of its kind in the region.

The next stop was the KD Mahawangsa, a multipurpose command support ship (a. battle ship in simple language!) commissioned in 1983. The hour-long tour of the ship satisfied every boy's dream of taking a picture next to the huge guns and touching the smaller ones on both sides of the ship! A light drizzle drenched many waiting for transport at the end of the visit.

The academic part of the event was enjoyable with full participation from the audience. The topics covered 9 infectious diseases (including one on nosocomial infection), one lecture on new diagnostic methods, a guest lecture on new vaccines by Prof Jacob John from the Indian Council of Medical Research and a series of interactive case discussions. The lectures were of high quality, the discussions lively, the intervening meals delicious and the atmosphere was relaxed creating the right blend for the process of teaching, learning and interaction.

In terms of organisation and material, the participants could not ask for more. The MPA thanks Assoc Prof Rahman Jamal, Dr Syed Zul and their committee members for the excellent organisation. Paediatric Weekend Rendezvous II will be held in October 1997 with the theme -Ambulatory Paediatrics---.