It is an honor and a privilege to serve IPA as the new editor of the IPA
Bulletin. I want to thank the
Selection Committee and Board of Directors for the
appointment. I am absolutely thrilled to have this
opportunity but find myself in the unenviable position
of succeeding David Ames. David has been truly gracious
in turning over the editorship. His guidance and
advice on assuming this new role has been invaluable.
I am delighted that he will continue his work with IPA
as deputy editor of International Psychogeriatrics.
This means that we will be brothers-in-arms on the
Publications Committee and see each other regularly
at Board of Directors meetings. David has certainly
provided stability to the organization with his exceptional
work on the Bulletin. Thus, I now have the
difficult task of a hard act to follow! Nonetheless, I
hope to find that this assignment is indeed a joy, not
a chore, as David noted in the last issue.
An obvious first step will be to maintain the standards
established by my predecessor, continuing with the
current format while I am getting a feel for the role
and responsibilities. Another first order of business will
be to rally the assistant editors, retaining or recruiting
regular contributors from each of the 70 countries represented
by IPA. It is truly fortunate that John O’Brien
and Robert Barber have agreed to stay on as research
editors, and that James Lindesay will continue to hold
down the “Culinary Corner.” I personally look forward
to their regular contributions. Incidentally, our own
managing editor has contributed the recipe for this
quarterly issue, and having already sampled the cuisine (Prigani), I can heartily recommend and endorse
the delectable, delightful and delicious.
Perhaps the most significant comment I can make
thus far is to compliment, with a sigh of relief, the IPA
staff who serve as the infrastructure and backbone of
the Bulletin. Diane Nickolson is a pleasure in all
respects, and Diane Gnatek and Joan Hamby really
know the process of this newsletter. My own assistant of
nine years, Diana Dabney, has signed on to this longterm
project. And, my spouse, Diane, has reluctantly
accepted the fact that I will be investing a good bit of
time in this never-ending process. I just hope that I
can keep all of these Diane’s and Diana’s straight and
in their proper perspective over the next four years.
The recent Board of Directors meeting, held in Rome,
gave me an opportunity to see the organization in
action, behind the scenes. I was awestruck by the
expertise and skill with which our leadership orchestrates
the business of IPA. Alistair Burns has a refreshing
style of leadership and he has the vision as our
president to move IPA forward in a very positive direction,
in my opinion. The membership is growing and
the field of psychogeriatrics has never been more exciting
and challenging. I would, therefore, heartily recommend
that our members take advantage of our
publications. The combination of the IPA Bulletin, IPA
Website and journal, International Psychogeriatrics,
presents a superb offering to the membership. The
Website has a new look and is much easier to navigate;
just click on www.ipa-online.org. Information on
upcoming IPA meetings, and a wealth of information
is easily accessed through our site.
This issue of the Bulletin contains a timely review of
dementia and depression contributed by Joanne
Edwards in her second year of graduate medical education
—a future psychogeriatrician. Additionally, we
have timely news on IPA’s task force on Late Life Mood
Disorders; a Canadian response to GAPs in Mental
Health Services for Seniors in Long-term Settings and
updates from our IPA affiliates in Mexico and
Portugal. These articles are highly interesting and
enlightening—so enjoy. For you surfers, Brian
Draper’s Website reviews are well worth a look. The
various reviewers have selected a diverse group of sites
for your consideration, including some recreational
“hubs” frequented by our IPA president.
The IPA regional meeting in Rome had just occurred at
the time of this writing. David Ames has agreed to
review the highlights in our next issue. However, this is
a good time to set your sights on Hong Kong, the location
of the next IPA regional meeting. Helen Chiu tells
me that October (23rd thru the 26th) is an opportune
time to visit the area. The Hong Kong Gold Coast Hotel
is truly extraordinary and the focus on “Dementia,
Depression and Elderly Suicide” should stimulate a
lively meeting. Abstract submissions are due by the 10th
of June with online submittal at www.ipa-online.org.
Some fantastic cultural opportunities are being offered
in conjunction with this meeting that will include visits
to old age psychiatry facilities/units. These tours will
surely enrich the experience of those who take advantage
of these offerings. In the same vein, the IPA
regional meetings have served to stimulate local interest
and activity in psychogeriatrics and are grassroots
efforts that have been hugely successful. The notion of
regionalization and regional initiatives is a relatively
new phenomenon that the IPA Board of Directors
encourages. You will be hearing more on this topic of
regionalization as more specific goals and objectives
are developed, articulated and operationalized.
As a final comment, I would be delighted to receive
your comments, compliments and complaints. I hope
that some of you will take up David Ames on his
admonishment and be a bit more argumentative during
my tenure as editor. I will strive to put forth an
occasional provocative contribution under the “point of
view” column. Also, any ideas for a new approach to
the Bulletin would be welcomed. After all, the Bulletin
belongs to the membership and is an excellent vehicle
for prompt and informal communications. This is a
great time to send me your thoughts as to what might
sustain the interest of our readership and further stimulate
the thoughts of our leaders. I look forward to hearing
from you and hope to personally meet the majority
of the IPA members over the next several years.
Please contact David Folks, Department of Psychiatry, UNMC, 985575 Nebraska
Medical Center, Omaha NE 68198-5575 USA, +1.402.354.6360, or send an email message to
dgfolks@unmc.edu
-----------------------------
David Folks
Reprinted from IPA Bulletin, Volume 19, Number 2
Copyright 2008 International Psychogeriatric Association
