Dr. T. Michael Moles MB, BS, DTM&H, FFARCS, FRCA, FHKCA, FHKAM (1935-2001)

Michael Moles was a founding member of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (previously the Club of Mainz). He played a key role in its development and continued to work tirelessly for the organization up to the time of his death. He played a major role in organizing the 1985 World Congress in Brighton in the UK, and was Chairman of the highly successful World Congress in Hong Kong in 1989. He attended and contributed to every congress of the Club of Mainz and WADEM since their beginnings. He was appointed First Vice President of WADEM in 1997.

Dr. Moles qualified from St. Thomas's Hospital, London in 1958. After house officer posts in his teaching hospital he embarked on a career in anaesthesia, training at Southampton and major teaching and specialist hospitals in London. During his training he devoted five years to military service with Royal Army Medical Corps, serving with the renowned Gurkha Parachute Squadron in Borneo and Nepal, the Parachute Field Ambulance, and the British Military Hospital in Hong Kong.

Military service had a profound effect upon his career. He developed an interest in trauma, mass casualty management, anti terrorism, chemical and biological warfare agents, and humanitarian aid which was to last throughout his professional life.

Mike Moles was marvellous company - a brilliant raconteur and mimic without equal. He had a finger on the pulse of the medical, military, financial, and general political scenes throughout the world and was a mine of information. He wrote prolifically, with over 30 books and publications in peer reviewed journals, and edited six books of congress abstracts. His forte, however, was the spoken word, and he delivered addresses to learned societies and organizations all over the world on more than 100 occasions.

At any meeting to do with emergency and disaster medicine or trauma one could behold a bearded, mandarin-like figure, resplendent in a khaki safari suit. This was no ordinary mandarin - this was one of the most intelligent, humorous, and charismatic persons in the world. This was Mike Moles. Mike died at home in Hong Kong on the 20th March 2001 aged 66.

Application Process

To honour the life of Dr T. Michael Moles (1934- 2001), the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) has established a fund to allow a two-year membership of WADEM to enthusiastic people interested in pursuing a career in disaster and emergency medicine . This fund is directed at those who could not otherwise afford to become members. Moles scholars will also be sought through the journal and newsletters and by recommendation from members and their colleagues.

There are simple guidelines for those who wish to apply:

Applications must be received by March 1st in the year of the congress. The next deadline is 01 March 2007.

Wherever possible, applications should be sent electronically to wadem@medicine.wisc.edu and titled Moles Fellowship.

We require:
· A copy of a current CV
· A personal statement (not exceeding two sides of A4) as to why you deserve this Fellowship and what benefits you expect to gain from it, as well as stating how you will continue your involvement once the fellowship expires
· The name of two referees

We will ask you to submit an annual report of your WADEM related activities to the Board and to submit a paper or poster to the WADEM World Congress following the receipt of the award.

All applications will be reviewed by a Scrutiny Committee, consisting of:
The President of WADEM
The Immediate Past President
The Treasurer
Successful applications will be announced at the World Congress.

Return to WADEM Home

Award for Excellence in Disaster Management
(The Humanitarian Award)
Administered by The World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM)

The World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine promotes the world-wide development and improvement of emergency and disaster medicine and humanitarian relief. WADEM has established an International Quality Award for Disaster Management aimed at organizations involved in disaster relief, and recognizes exemplary relief activities in disaster medical responses.

Purposes of this Award:

The Award Promotes:

Humanitarian Organizations Eligible For The Award:

Organizations participating in the Award process will be required to submit an application package that include responses to the Award Criteria. The Award is based upon performance excellence criteria. In responding to these criteria, each Award applicant is expected to provide information and data on the organization's improvement processes and results. Information and data submitted must be adequate to demonstrate that the applicant's approaches are effective and could be replicated or adapted by other organizations. The Award Criteria are designed not only to serve as a reliable basis for making Awards but also to permit an assessment of the organization's overall performance management system by a panel of experts. Award recipients may publicize and advertise their Awards and recipients are expected to share information about their successful performance strategies with other relief organizations.

The Quality Award process is a set of basic, interrelated, results-oriented requirements. These are non-prescriptive in that they do not dictate how the results are to be obtained. There are no specific tools, techniques, technologies, systems, or starting points. The intent is to promote innovation and improve quality of services. The Criteria are a road map to assist organizations on their journey to excellence. They contain well-defined core values, concepts and a framework, and also detailed expectations derived from these. The objectives of the Award process include to identify and communicate the diversity of approaches that can be used by organizations to achieve quality and performance excellence. There is no one right way.

Establishment of the Award is not only for the recognition of excellent organizations but also serves an educational purpose by creating an evolving body of knowledge on how organizations are able to change their cultures and achieve eminence; and to provide a means to others to learn and use this information. All organizations have market constraints and customer requirements, they have the same need to learn how well they are doing and how they could get better.

Eligibility:
Application for the Award is available to any organization that provides humanitarian relief services and/or products. The organization must be a non-profit organization such as a Non-Governmental Organization, Private Voluntary Organization or International Organization. Government agencies and for-profit organizations are not eligible. The organization must have existed for at least one year prior to the application.

There will be three eligibility categories based on the size of the humanitarian relief organization:

No more than 1 award will be given in each category and no Award need be given. The maximum number of Awards that can be given in any year is 3.

Award Process:
The review process is initiated when an organization submits an eligibility determination form. The WADEM Quality Award Board reviews this form in order to determine if all of the eligibility requirements are met. All potential applicants must have their eligibility approved prior to submitting the Award application.
The eligible organization can then submit the application package, which will consist of an approved eligibility determination form, with a listing of the applicant's organization sites; a completed application form; an organizational overview, and a self evaluation addressing the applicant's key service factors; the application report and response to all elements of the Award Criteria.

The applications are reviewed and evaluated by members of the Board of Examiners in a four-stage process. This process results in the recommendation by the Judges of Award recipients to the director of the WADEM Quality Award program and a feedback report to every applicant. The objective of the applicant should be to provide sufficient information on the management of their products and services and results of improvement processes to permit a complete and rigorous review by the Board of Examiners. The winners will be announced at WADEM sponsored World Congresses.

Please tell us about your organization and if you wish to receive additional information regarding the Award of Excellence in Disaster Management sponsored by the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine.



President's Award

The President's Award is given in recognition of outstanding contribution to Disaster and Emergency medicine

This award, given by the past presidents of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine, is accompanied by a life-time offer of free membership of WADEM and an engraved plaque.

The winners of the President's awards are Elaine Daily, Wolfgang Dick, and Muneo Ohta


istance in Japan.

Return to WADEM Home