Malaysian becomes first Asian head of world pain group

 Dr Mary Cardosa, an anaesthesiologist with more than three decades in pain medicine, previously made history as the first woman president of the Malaysian Medical Association.

Dr Mary Cardosa took office today for a two-year term as president of the International Association for the Study of Pain. (IASP pic)

BANGKOK:

Malaysian physician Dr Mary Cardosa has become the first Asian president of the International Association for the Study of Pain, taking office for a two-year term at the closing of a world congress on pain here today.

In a statement today, she said her presidency of the international association would focus on advancing pain science, strengthening healthcare education and improving access to effective pain management worldwide.

“Pain affects people in every country, but access to effective pain care remains profoundly unequal,” she said.

Cardosa previously made history in 2011 as the first woman to serve as president of the Malaysian Medical Association.

An anaesthesiologist with more than three decades of experience in pain medicine, she set up the health ministry’s first acute pain service in 1993 and the first multidisciplinary pain clinic in 2000 and also spearheaded Malaysia’s Pain Free Hospital initiative, launched in 2011 to improve pain recognition and management in healthcare facilities. - FMT