Members’ Corner
We encourage all physicians with an interest in geriatrics and other allied healthcare professionals, medical students, residents and fellows to join the Society. We also invite researchers in the field of aging to join our organization. For more information please visit http://canadiangeriatrics.ca/default/index.cfm/membership/
The following articles have been written by CGS members:
Approach to assessing fitness to drive in patients with cardiac and cognitive conditions.
Physicians are often uncomfortable assessing fitness to drive; many have never been taught how to perform such an assessment. To read full article please click on the following link: www.cfp.ca/content/56/11/1123.full.pdf+html?sid=638ec8d5-0751-42f1-83e4-64a4ba5c82a7
Challenges and achievements in caring for the elderly.
Anyone in health care knows the Canadian population is aging. The number of patients older than 75 years of age with complex health problems is increasing dramatically. To read full article please click on the following link: www.cfp.ca/content/56/11/1101.full.pdf+html?sid=6fc090e5-dbfe-4ea9-a1ed-29ccd66b4f7a
Office management of gait disorders in the elderly.
Gait and balance disorders in the elderly are difficult to recognize and diagnose in the family practice setting because they initially present with subtle undifferentiated manifestations, and because causes are usually multifactorial, with multiple diseases developing simultaneously. To read full article please click on the following link: www.cfp.ca/content/57/7/765.full.pdf+html
Pharmacological treatment of Alzheimer disease.
This paper reviews current and future pharmacological treatments of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). To read full article please click on the following link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22014690
A New Lens to Look at Aging:
Clinical Pearls that I Wish I Knew When I Was a Medical Student
The year 2011 marks the beginning of a momentous transition as the first cohort of the baby boomers turns 65 years old. While many people have spoken of the economic, social and healthcare implications of the demographic imperative for quite some time now, it is finally happening right in front of our eyes. I am delighted to learn that this issue of the UBCMJ is devoted to aging. Indeed, it is timely for us to rethink our approach to the aging phenomenon; rather than resorting to highly theoretical constructs and complex scientific arguments, I propose that we explore the fundamental aspects of this topic through the lens of a medical student, our most junior colleague in the medical field. To read full article please click on the following link: http://www.ubcmj.com/pdf/ubcmj_3_1_2011_6-7.pdf.
Member Research Projects
Geriatric health passport program
MyHealth passport is a portable health summary that was originally developed at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, ON for adolescent patients transitioning to adult care. A geriatric version has recently been piloted and the findings have been summarized in the Letters to the Editor section in the current issue of Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (November 2011- Volume 59, Issue 11). It can be accessed via the JAGS homepage (http://www.wiley.com/bw/journal.asp?ref=0002-8614&site=1). Geriatric health passports can also be created and printed for use by physicians and patients at no cost by visiting http://www.sickkids.ca/geriatricpassport/. Feedback on this new geriatric tool is certainly welcome and can be directed to marthaspencer3@gmail.com.
