Association of Aviation Medical Examiners

In Memoriam
Professor John ERNSTING, CB, OBE, BSc, MBBS, PhD, FRCP, FFOM, FRAeS.

Professor John Ernsting died suddenly aged 81 on 2nd June 2009 in Frimley UK after a short illness. Characteristically he had worked in his office at King’s College London on the previous day, having just returned from delivering one of his inspiring lectures at the Otago Residential School in Stirling Castle Scotland. Prior to this he had participated in the AsMA meeting in Los Angeles.

John Ernsting (known universally and respectfully as ‘JE’), the son of a London dentist, graduated in physiology (1949) and medicine (1952) from Guy’s Hospital Medical School with honours, taking the prizes for obstetrics and surgery. He then joined the Royal Air Force Medical Branch in 1954. Apart from a sabbatical year at USAF School of Aerospace Medicine (1979-1980), he spent the whole of his military career at the Royal Air Force Institute of Aviation Medicine, Farnborough UK, retiring as Commandant with the 2-star rank of Air Vice-Marshal in 1993. He was the Royal Air Force Consultant Adviser in Aviation Medicine from 1971 to 1990, and served as the Dean of Air Force Medicine and then as Senior Consultant (RAF) from 1990 to 1993. On his retirement from the Royal Air Force, Professor Ernsting was appointed Honorary Civil Consultant in Aviation Medicine to the RAF.

Professor Ernsting’s wide range of basic and applied research in altitude physiology and protection established the modern physiological requirements for aircrew breathing systems. His involvement in the design and evaluation of integrated protection systems for military aircrew included research into the respiratory and cardiovascular effects of exposure to acceleration, whole body vibration, and immersion in water. Much of the current aircrew protective and life-support equipment has evolved directly from the pioneering development work performed by JE and the teams he led. On the civilian side, he was closely involved with the research and development of the crew life-support systems for the Concorde supersonic transport aircraft.

Whilst still serving in the RAF, John Ernsting was appointed Visiting Professor in Applied Physiology at King’s College London in 1987. He was Director of the MSc course in Human and Applied Physiology and on his retirement from the Royal Air Force began teaching and conducting research full-time at King’s College London. He established a human respiratory research laboratory and in 1998 was appointed Head of the Human Physiology and Aerospace Medicine Group in the School of Biomedical Sciences based on the campus of Guy’s Hospital, his medical Alma Mater. He was instrumental in establishing the course for the Diploma in Aviation Medicine at King’s College London, following the closure of the RAF Institute and the School of Aviation Medicine at Farnborough. He was also Director of the courses for the MSc in Aviation Medicine and the MSc in Aeromedical Research at King’s College London, and established a popular intercalated BSc course in aerospace physiology for undergraduate medical students.

Professor Ernsting’s research work and teaching brought him international renown in the field of Aviation Medicine and he maintained a personal interest in the lives and careers of his students and colleagues throughout the world. In addition to being the President of the Association of Aviation Medicine Examiners from 1994 to 2008, he also served as President of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine from 1995 to 1997. In 2001 the ‘John Ernsting Panel’ was established at the International Congress of Aviation and Space Medicine and it gave him particular pleasure when the John Ernsting Laboratory was named for him in Brazil in 2008. He became a member of the Aerospace Medical Association in 1960, was elected a Fellow in 1972, and served as a Vice-President on two occasions. He was elected to Fellowship of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 1978 and was President of the UK Chapter of SAFE (Europe) from 1984 to 1994.

Professor Ernsting’s name and influence will also live on in the standard textbook, Ernsting’s Aviation Medicine, now in its 4th edition and internationally recognised as the authoritative text.

His honours and awards included Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE, 1959) and Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (CB, 1992). The Aerospace Medical Association honoured him with the Eric Liljencrantz Award (1974), the Harry G Moseley Award 1992) and the Louis H Bauer Founder’s Award (2002). He also received the Scientific Achievement Award of the Advisory Group for Aeronautical Research and Development of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in 1990 and the André Allard Medal of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine in 1999.

Professor Michael Bagshaw
June 2009

AAME Appraisal Service

Following the discussion at the recent AGM, the Appraisal service is now available to any full member who needs an appraisal. Full details, including the necessary documents, guidance material and information / contact details for each of the appraisers can be found on the Appraisal page in the Members' section of the website.

Appraisal service for members

During 2008 the Association has recruited and trained a panel of twelve appraisers for AMEs who are full members.

We are pleased to offer this service from April 2009, following acceptance at the AGM.

IMPORTANT: Change to Membership Fees

AAME SUBSCRIPTION INCREASE

Following the discussion at the Association's AGM in April, it was agreed that the annual membership fee should rise to £75. Members are reminded that the membership fee is due on 1st June.

Members who pay their annual membership by standing order should amend their standing order as soon as possible, in order to avoid making an incorrect payment. Note that the Association cannot amend the standing order on behalf of a member. For more detail, see the attached letter from our Treasurer, David Tallent:
Changing your Standing Order

Stewart Memorial Trust Travel Award

The Stewart Memorial Trust Travel Award is given annually to enable a medical officer or civilian medical practitioner who has made a significant contribution to the subject of aviation medicine, to attend a conference or meeting on aviation medicine somewhere overseas.

Whilst there are no restrictions on eligibility, the aim is to encourage younger individuals of potential, who might not otherwise be afforded such opportunity. Usually there is one successful applicant and the award amounts to £1000 to meet conference fees and travel expenses for attendance at a suitable aviation medicine meeting or conference and is a reimbursement of costs incurred.

To download full details of the award, please click on this link: Stewart Memorial Trust Travel Award

AAME Members only: If you would like to be nominated by the Association, or to put someone forward for nomination, please contact Eleanor Ivory, Membership Secretary (email: membership@aame.org.uk), by no later than 24 Oct 08.

The winner of the 2008 award was Dr David Hill, a member of the Association. David used his award to attend the Aerospace Medical Association conference in Boston (Boston USA, not Boston, Lincolnshire!). David has written a report of his experiences - as you can see, he made the most of the opportunity.

2008 AAME Conference

The 29th Scientific Meeting will be held on the weekend of 3rd-5th April 2009. Full information, including registration forms and a link to the online registration facility, will be published on the Scientific Meeting page later this year.

Minutes of Meetings

Members can now find the minutes of the Annual General Meetings since 2001 and of Committee meetings since the last AGM on the Meeting Minutes page of Members' News.

Ernsting's Aviation Medicine

The fourth edition of this established textbook has been revised and updated by a multi-disciplinary team of experienced contributors, and includes new chapters on aeromedical evacuation, commercial passenger fitness to fly, transport aircraft and passenger safety, cosmic radiation, and naval air operations.

Click here for full details of the fourth edition and to buy online.

Aviation Medicine Training Courses

Details of aviation medicine training courses can be found in the ICAO training directory. Just click on the link to the directory search page: Aviation Medicine Training Courses and enter 'aviation medicine' as the keyword.

History of the Association 1978-99

In 1999 Victor Maxwell, honorary Vice-President and one of the Association's founding members, published a history of the Association, a copy of which was sent to all members at the time. The document is now available as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file - click on this link to download a copy.

Our former Chairman, Guy Nash, hopes to update the history and this will be published electronically in due course.