IU GERIATRICS electronic news for February 2003

The IU Geriatrics Program and the IU Center for Aging Research invite you to March presentations by Visiting Professor Peter Boling, MD, Professor, Department of Medicine, Divisions of General Medicine and Geriatrics, Medical College of Virginia of Virginia Commonwealth University. Dr. Boling is also Director of the Long Term Care Program, Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA. He will present:

VA Noon Conference, Tuesday, March 11, 2003, room C1202
"Aging of the Organs: Physiologic and Anatomic Changes with Aging that Impact Clinical Practice"

Medicine Grand Rounds, Wednesday, March 12, 2003, Wishard's Myers Audtorium,
"Can Home Care Improve Quality and Reduce Costs?"

AWARD

Congratulations to Youcef Sennour, MD, Geriatrics Fellow, who has been awarded a scholarship and acceptance into the American Medical Directors Association (AMDA) Foundation's Futures Program. It is held during AMDA's Annual Symposia in Orlando March 6-9. The AMDA Futures Program is an intensive learning experience designed to expose residents and fellows to the numerous career opportunities in long term care. The award includes admission to the Futures Program, registration, transportation and lodging at the Annual Symposia, and AMDA membership for one year.

PUBLICATIONS

Jung SH, Hui S. Sample size calculation for rank tests comparing K survival distributions. Lifetime Data Anal. 2002 Dec;8(4):361-73.

DeKosky ST, Ikonomovic MD, Wang X, Farlow M, Wisniewski S, Lopez OL, et al. Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid alpha1-antichymotrypsin levels in Alzheimer's disease: Correlation with cognitive impairment. Ann Neurol. 2003 Jan;53(1):81-90.

Brunt ME, Murray MD, Hui SL, Kesterson J, Perkins AJ, Tierney WM. Mass media release of medical research results. J Gen Intern Med. 2003 Feb;18(2):84-94.

Dave S, Imperiale T, Hui SL, Kroenke K. Is the distal hyperplastic polyp a marker for proximal neoplasia? A Systematic Review. J Gen Intern Med. 2003 Feb;18(2):128-37.

Sands LP, Yaffe K, Covinsky K, Chren MM, Counsell SR, Palmer R, Fortinsky R, Landefeld CS. Cognitive screening predicts magnitude of functional recovery from admission to 3 months after discharge in hospitalized elders. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2003 Jan;58(1):M37-M45.

Li I, Arenson C, Warshaw G, Bragg E, Shaull R, Counsell SR. A national survey on the current status of family practice residency education in geriatric medicine. Fam Med 2003;35(1):35-41.

PRESENTATIONS

Frederick Unverzagt, PhD, presented 4 papers at the International Neuropsychological Society's 31st Annual Meeting Feb 5-8, 2003 in Honolulu, Hawaii. They included:
Incidence of cognitive impairment no dementia: Data from the Indianapolis Study of Health and Aging
Clinical utility of IU Token Test in the diagnosis of dementia
CERAD performance in Alzheimer disease and Progressive Supranuclear Palsy
Incremental validity of CERAD Constructional Praxis Recall in diagnosing Alzheimer disease
The papers will be published in the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society; full citations (including many IU co-authors) will be covered in a future e-news.

Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, presented "Systematic Evidence Review: A Tool to Make Individualized Clinical Decisions" in January during grand rounds for occupational therapists at the University of Indianapolis. He is working on an educational program with the U of I School of Occupational Therapy to pilot test the feasibility of a curriculum that integrates evidence-based practice into geriatric occupational therapy clinical services.

Gregory Gramelspacher, MD, presented the Ethics Noon Conference February 5th at Ball Memorial Hospital in Muncie to the medicine, family medicine, pathology and transitional residents at Ball Memorial.

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES

Glenda Westmoreland, MD, MPH, is a member of the IU School of Medicine Diversity Council and participated as a panelist in the discussion, "Women in Medicine." The January 15th panel was an event of IUSM Diversity Week. Speakers hope to raise awareness of how embracing and understanding the School's diverse nature and that of current and future patients can contribute to better health care outcomes.

Jeanette (Kreger) Jefferis, RN, FNP, MSN, completed a Master of Science in Nursing at Case Western Reserve University this past fall.

Karen Bowers, RN, Nursing Director for Senior Care, is chairperson for the Gerontological Nursing Interest Forum for the Indiana State Nurses Association. The forums work to improve professional practice and development within a specific clinical or functional area.

Kathy Frank, RN, MSN, Geriatrics Progam Administrator, and Karen Bowers, RN, Nursing Director for Senior Care, attended the 6th Annual NICHE (Nurses Improving Care for Health System Elders) Leadership Conference January 30-31 in New York City. Started in 1992, NICHE has evolved into a national geriatric nursing program comprising 105 hospitals encompassing 55 health systems nationally. A program of The John A. Hartford Foundation Institute for Geriatric Nursing, the goal of NICHE is to achieve systematic nursing change that will benefit hospitalized older patients. The focus of NICHE is on programs and protocols that are dominantly under the control of nursing practice—areas where nursing interventions have a substantive and positive impact on patient care.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The IU Geriatrics Conference on February 19 features Heidi Crow, DMD, MS, Assistant Professor Oral Surgery and Hospital Dentistry, Director of the General Practice Residency Program. She will present "Oral diseases in the elderly" in Wishard T2008 A&B from 7:30-8:30am.

Join us at the next Aging Research Work in Progress February 25, 8-9am, when Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, will present "Translating Alzheimer Disease clinical trial results into practice." WIP meets at the VA in D6005.