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I would like to thank the British Geriatrics Society for sponsoring me to attend the course ‘La Educacion Geriatria en Europa’, Geriatrics Education in Europe, which took place in July in Spain.

The three-day programme provided an excellent overview of the principles of the basic science of ageing and the biological basis behind the concept of frailty. It also comprehensively covered the basics of geriatrics – assessment, functional assessment, rehabilitation, palliative care, dementia, delirium, polypharmacy and numerous other topics relevant to geriatric medicine.

The lectures were presented by excellent international speakers from the UK, Spain and Argentina, who delivered their content in an engaging and stimulating way, referring to up to date literature. There were opportunities to participate in small group workshops with the other students on the course. They came from all over the world, including Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Brazil and various parts of Spain. All of them were training or currently working in geriatric medicine. This provided a fascinating opportunity to discover the challenges facing geriatricians in different countries and to discuss the various perspectives on the issues raised.

What was striking was the similarities between doctors from different countries. Our ideas and approach to geriatrics and elderly patients were largely similar. The main differences were to be found in facilities and services available, service infrastructure and legislation, but what everyone had in common was a desire to take new ideas from the teaching and workshop encounters back to their own countries and to apply their new-found knowledge to geriatric medicine in clinical practice.
Overall, the course was inspiring and challenging, with a good mix of revision, which allowed consolidation of existing knowledge, as well as the introduction of new material for learning and developing ideas for research projects.

The course took place in a beautiful 15th century monastery in the small village of Cuacos de Yuste in the mountains of Extremadura, one of the regions of Spain bordering Portugal. The location was beautiful and the sunny warm weather allowed the course to be run in the cloisters of the monastery, with a stunning view out to the mountains. There were excellent translators who provided live translation to facilitate the whole process. Certainly these additional factors, as well as the Spanish style timetable with a siesta in the afternoon, made this course especially unusual. It was a unique experience, travelling to Extremadura and participating in a course of this type in an international environment, and one which I would definitely recommend to anyone considering a career in or beginning training in geriatric medicine.

Karen Leckie

BGS Newsletter, September 2009
Issue 23 ISSN 1748-634000 23