Canadian Geriatrics Society

Dr. Graeme Mulley, President of the British Geriatric Society, writes about the CGS Annual General Meeting in the June 2010 BGS newsletter.

I had the pleasure of being the guest of the CGS at their annual meeting in Ottawa. Peter Crome had paved the way for this exchange visit. There are only 216 geriatricians in Canada (only six qualified this year) and few work full time in the specialty: many also have commitments in general medicine, teaching and management. David Hogan has written an excellent history of the specialty in Canada in the Canadian Bulletin of Medical History. He points out that Lord Amulree had no intention of suggesting that geriatrics should be established as a specialty!  Several Britons have positively influenced geriatrics in Canada (Lionel Cosin, Ron Cape, Colin Powell and Roy Fox immediately spring to mind) and Canadians in their turn have made an impact on geriatrics south of the 49th parallel. The Canadian community schemes have influenced UK thinking on care outside hospital - success does indeed begin with knowledge translation and exchange.  It was good to see John Puxty again - he is developing interesting modules on teaching in nursing homes.??I was impressed by the number of GPs at the conference as well as the many delegates from professions allied to medicine. GPs deliver most of the elderly care in Canada. The quality of the papers and discussions was very high indeed. I spoke on the evolution of elderly medicine, successes (and shortcomings) of UK Geriatrics, policy and politics and the expanding role of the BGS. I look forward to reciprocating the CGS hospitality by welcoming their president Angela Juby to the BGS meeting in Liverpool.??The conference dinner was a huge success. It began with a wine tasting session - I had not appreciated that Canada produced such fine wines! The camaraderie was wonderful - I was most grateful for the hospitality offered during the delay in returning to the UK caused by the Icelandic volcano.??Because of the cancelled flights, I was unfortunately unable to attend the Edinburgh Spring meeting. I am so grateful to president-elect Finbarr Martin for stepping in at the last minute.  I have heard nothing but praise for the meeting - my sincere congratulations to everyone involved in the planning and smooth running of the event.

CGS members can attend BGS meetings at the members’ rate due to an arrangement between the 2 Societies. Their meetings are highly rated and happen twice yearly. Their website is http://www.bgs.org.uk/ .