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News August 2008: -Dr Michael Hyland awarded honorary MD from UCC Read here June 2008: -IGS Position Paper on Pensions Read here June 2008: -IGS Ageing Studies Review Vol 2 Read here October 2007: -IGS Statement on President's Forum 2007 Click here to download, Word doc, 33.5kb September 2007: -Minister for Health/Older People launches AgePages teaching pack in ARHC. We are very grateful to the Minister of State for Older People, Ms Máire Hoctor, for launching this teaching pack on 13 September 2007. Ireland has embarked on developments to promote a better framework for older people - us as we age - and in the health arena, important beginnings have been made in promoting specialist approaches to healthcare for older people, which have been of proven effectiveness - for example, both acute geriatric medicine, and stroke unit care (both practiced at the Adelaide and Meath Hospital) can reduce death and disability by 25%, and specialist pathways for falls can reduce unnecessary hospitalization and further falls for older people. A key to the further development is the provision of gerontological education to healthcare workers in their undergraduate training. ARHC at Adelaide and Meath Hospital has been an Irish pioneer in this regard, with the development of the first formal series of tutorials and training packs (AgePages) for junior medical students in 1994. The AgePages are a primer for a wide range of topics, incluing stroke, dementia, delirium, falls and continence failure. One innovative approach is the use of the humanities as a way of illustrating the narrative of later life, as well as the impact of illness. The reading list consists preliminary of novels and true life accounts, which remind students of the perspective of older people, as well as the richness of context of later life. The launch of this 2007/2008 edition of the AgePages coincides with the development of Aois agus Eolas, the Centre for Ageing, Neuroscience and the Humanities. We are grateful to the many staff who have contributed to the renewal of the AgePages over the years, as well as to the whole multi-disciplinary team who have supported the teaching of medical students over the last thirteen years. In this year's edition, we thank especially Drs Máiréad Bartley, Nuala Caffrey, Marie-Therese Lonergan, Nicky Quinlan, Louise O'Connor as well as Dr Siobhán Ní Bhriain of Late Life Psychiatry. The AgePages can be viewed on www.ageandknowledge.ie September 2007: -IGS 2007 Prize Winners & Commendations Croke Park, Dublin, 21st/22nd September, 2007 Platform Winners: 1st Place Prevalence And Correlates Of Psychotic Disorder And Psychotic Symptoms In Community Dwelling Elderly Aoife Ni Chorcorain 2nd Place 15 Years Later: Dramatic Change in Resuscitation Preferences of Older Irish Patients Paul Cotter Highly Commended: The Commensal Bacterium Bifidobacterium Infantis Modulates The Mucosal Immune Response to Clostridium Difficile by Attenuating the Secretion of the Chemokine CCL20 Jude Ryan Poster Winners: 1st Place Systemic Inflammation Superimposed on Chronic Neurodegeneration induces Acute Behavioural and Cognitive Changes and Accelerates Neurological Decline Colm Cunningham 2nd Place Acute Hospital Readmission rates for Elderly following Discharge to Long-Term Care Facilities. Kevin McCarroll Highly Commended: Development and Implementation of an OSCE to Teach and Provide Formative Feedback in Communication and Interpersonal Skills to Trainees in Geriatrics Patricia O’Sullivan March 2007: -New events diary A new "Events" page has been added to the IGS website. Any national or international events of interest to members of the Irish Gerontological Society will be added. If you know of any events that should be added, please let us know (see contacts page). For details on events, click on "Events" in the main menu. September 2006: -IGS Scientific Meeting 2006 Galway played host to the IGS 54th Annual Scientific Meeting on 15th and 16th of September this year. The local organising committee was headed up by Dr Eamon Mulkerrin with support from Dr Shaun O’Keefe and Prof Eamon O’Shea. Fantastic sunshine greeted the delegates on arrival, while inside the conference centre a comfortable and compact arena was laid out. This year even more than usual a multidisciplinary attendance was achieved, with posters and presentations from a wide variety of backgrounds. Dr Mulkerrin gave a masterclass on Vitamin D and its underestimated importance. The first invited speaker was Prof John Bond who spoke about “Healthy Ageing and its Social Context”. We were also distinguished to have as a guest speaker Prof Ken Rockwood of Nova Scotia, who gave a fascinating insight to the practice of Geriatric Medicine in Canada. The conference dinner was the ideal finale to the first day and gave all an opportunity to mingle and meet old friends and make new acquaintances. Day 2 commenced at 9:30am and again there was an impressive attendance, despite the early start. The ten final presentations were made and prizes were awarded to the best poster and platform presentations (see below). A most successful weekend was rounded up with the Annual Committee Meeting, where a new Treasurer was elected, and the Annual Report was given. Prize Winners: Best Platform Presentation: M Khanji, “Preferences of acutely ill patients for participation in medical decision making” Runner-up: Hilary Cronin, “The impact of Chronic Kidney Disease on Bone Turnover and Vertebral Fracture” Commended: Shane O’Hanlon, “Colorectal Cancer in the Very Elderly” Best Poster Presentation: George Pope, “Low Body Mass Index results in increased falls and fracture risk” Runner-up: C Leonard, “An interim evaluation of the pilot occupational therapy ‘Action Van’ Service: sharing of resources to enhance discharge from hospital for older people and to enhance community services” September 2006: -New Executive Members At the Scientific Meeting, Dr Mike Watts completed his term of office as Treasurer, and was succeeded by Dr Emma Stokes. |
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