Presidential Address
Dear EUGMS Friends,
With end of the year 2015 quickly approaching I’m writing these lines for my last address as the president of EUGMS. I would like to warmly thank my friends in the Boards and the Viennese secretariat for invaluable advice and support. It has been great pleasure and honour to work with you. Especial thanks are due to leaving EB members, past president Jean-Pierre Michel, secretary Regina Roller Wirnsberger and treasurer Juergen Bauer. And warm welcome to new members Anne Ekdahl , Ralf-Joachim Schulz and Leo Boelaarts.
2015 has in many ways been challenging and sad for Europe, our thoughts are especially with our friends in France, but naturally also with as well as with many immigrants who have been forced to leave their homelands because of war and unrest. We all do hope that brighter days are ahead.
The 2 years of my presidency have passed almost in a flash. We all stand on the shoulders of giants – our predecessors -- but I’m very happy that 2 important steps were actualized during my presidency: a professional secretariat independent of national societies, and selection of our own professional congress organizer (PCO). And it seems that we have made good choices, the secretariat in Vienna has taken a very active role in helping the boards and increasingly also in governance. It is always good to remember that board members including the president are volunteers and we need a skillful secretariat to assist and take care of everyday work. Our own PCO, Aristea, has also taken a very active start and I’m confident that EUGMS congresses are going to ever flourish and develop with their expertise and assistance.
The involvement of EUGMS in general and often very complex European affairs – through European Union, Commission and Parliament – is of utmost importance, and for these our secretariat and PCO will take increasing responsibility. Our lady in Brussels, Christine Marking, has made excellent work, and I hope will help us also in the future.
EUGMS congresses are the financial backbone of our Society and their development with increasing participant rates and new ways of cooperation with sponsors are essential. The high academic and scientific level has already been achieved. This was evidenced by the 2 congresses during my presidency, Rotterdam and Oslo. Local organizing committees made an excellent job along with our Academic Board. Although PCO aims to make congresses independent from national societies, I think it is still important that EUGMS have geographical balance and I would warmly welcome also a more Eastern European locations.
Our own Journal, European Geriatric Medicine has made great progress during the past years and established its position in geriatrics. Important steps have been taken, impact factor is increasing, but in the changing world of scientific publishing there are also many challenges. It is worth considering a special task force to assist Editor in Chief in important decisions.
Also our website has made great progress. General outline has been renewed and we aim for greater interaction with our members. Please use your website.
What lies ahead:
EUGMS is increasingly contacted to collaborate with other societies and participate in various projects. This has developed into forming task and finish and special interest groups, and formulating statements (eg. with the European Society of Hypertension about antihypertensive treatment in older patients) from the geriatrics point of view. These kind of interactions are very important, but at the same time EUGMS needs to keep its activities focused. These focused activities include cooperation with the UEMS, IAGG European Region and especially its Clinical Section, European Academy for the Medicine of the Aged (EAMA), and the European Interdiciplinary Council of Ageing (EICA). These bodies represent various activities in the field of gerontology and care for aged and ageing policies. I think it’s very important for EUGMS to contribute and benefit from their activities, but at the same time keep its role clear as The Society for European geriatricians.
The recent EUGMS Executive Board discussed the future and the following strategic lines were taken up: 1) Improvement of process planning, internal communication and coordination, 2) Strengthening the membership basis and the involvement of national societies, 3) Leadership in geriatric science and policy, 4) Increased visibility and European alliances, 5) New ways to funding, 6) Communication Plan / Innovative formats of knowledge transfer (including the EUGMS congresses). Many of these lines are already I good motion and it’s the task of the new EB to take them forward. I would also like to remind you of the European Silver Paper and the 2015 WHO World Report on Ageing and Health which set good outlines for further developments. Links can be found on EUGMS website. During 2014-2015 we also initiated cooperation with JAMA, a leading general medical journal. This contributed to an interesting polypharmacy series in JAMA, but future will tell how this cooperation evolves.
Finally, a personal suggestion for the future. I think we as geriatricians could talk more about healthy ageing and how to promote it. Geriatricians do it by treating older patients the best possible way. But we must also stimulate colleagues who care for younger and middle-aged people to think of their older days in time. The better shape you have when entering old age the better your senior years are. If the bathtub is running over with water, you need good mops, but also need to turn off the taps.
I wish all success to the next President of EUGMS, Professor Stefania Maggi
and A Happy New Year 2016 to all!
Timo Strandberg,
President EUGMS
