IPA Bulletin
Editor's Note 

The New Year Brings Great Change, Opportunities and Continued Successes for IPA

David G. Folks

The International Psychogeriatric Association will enter the new year with significant changes and challenges. Now is the time to plan ahead in order to take advantage of a great many opportunities that are coming in 2006.

Regional Meetings: Perhaps most exciting are two 2006 Regional Meetings to be held in Europe and North America. Join IPA and see the World I say, and this year is no exception. The Regional Meeting format is clearly distinct from the format for IPA Congresses. A truly informal, yet highly productive format that provides an in-depth, multidisciplinary review of a specific topic within the field of Psychogeriatrics. I must confess that I rather enjoy these regional meetings every bit as much as the larger, more formal IPA Congress simply because the regional meetings afford one with the opportunity to gain a broader perspective about the culture and the nature of Psychogeriatrics within the designated locale. IPA’s European Regional Meeting to be held 3–6 May, 2006 in Lisbon, Portugal will focus on “Better Mental Health for Older People.” The meeting is to be held in cooperation with the Portugese Psychogeriatric Association. The Associacao Portuguesa de Gerontopsiquiatria has been highlighted in the IPA Bulletin in the past and is a vibrant and active affiliate of IPA with many professional activities that will be of great interest to our IPA members who attend the meeting this May. It is still not too late to submit an oral or poster presentation for consideration of the Scientific Sub-committee for the Lisbon meeting. The Regional Meeting Chair, Horácio Firmino promised that this meeting will not disappoint those fortunate enough to attend as outlined on page 9 of this issue of the Bulletin. However, if you are unable to attend the May Regional Meeting in Lisbon, Portugal, then please do plan to be in Mexico City on 16–18 November for IPA’s Latin American Regional Meeting. It is not too early to begin planning for this meeting as well. Mexico City has much to offer as one of the truly great venues of North and Latin America. Finally, please do mark your calendars for the 13th IPA Congress to be held in Osaka, Japan 14–19 October, 2007.

Leadership: President Sadavoy enters his first full year in 2006 as our new President. Joel has already begun to build upon the work of his predecessor, George Grossberg, and collaborate with our new IPA Executive Director, Susan Oster and our wonderful IPA staff. In the last issue of the Bulletin archived at www.ipa-online.org, Joel outlined a rather ambitious set of goals for IPA that has already begun to take shape. IPA’s Board of Directors and our faithful committee Chairs are contributing mightily to this endeavor and I will keep you posted on the progress and accomplishments on your behalf. The IPA “Call for Nominations” has gone out for four new openings with the IPA Board of Directors. I urge anyone interested in being nominated for a Board of Director position or those who wish to nominate someone for these positions to review the procedures on page 3 of this issue of the Bulletin and act promptly. Finally, Professor David Ames, Editor-in-Chief of IPA’s peer-reviewed journal, International Psychogeriatrics, has ably provided the leadership to bring our Journal to the highest level of quality including the redesign of the Journal in 2004 and our work with a new publisher, Cambridge University Press, that same year. David Ames was my predecessor as Editor-in-Chief of IPA Bulletin, a tough act to follow and continues his outstanding leadership with the Journal. David reminds the membership of the Journal’s history and current goals and future plans outlined on page 6–7 as well as reminding us of what we can do for the Journal.

Future Plans: As for this issue and future issues of the IPA Bulletin, I will continue to encourage a broad range of articles and news items of interest to the membership including representative articles from around the world. For example, in this issue we have items from Argentina, Australia, Canada, Portugal and the United Kingdom. Recent Advances submitted regularly from Professor John O’Brien, Dr Robert Barber, and Professor Robert Baldwin will continue to keep you updated on important developments in the scientific literature, together with Professor Brian Draper’s column, “On the Web” and Professor James Lindesay’s scrumptious “Culinary Corner.”

Jodi Metzgar who serves as Assistant to the Editor and the IPA staff are in the process of confirming our Assistant Editors who represent all of the IPA constituents in their region and they serve to keep all of us appraised of news items and significant developments from around the world. I welcome submittals directly from the membership and any of colleagues, clinicians, researchers, policy makers, and educators who have a vested interest in the field of Psychogeriatrics. The Bulletin is open to everyone who strives for “Better Mental Health for Older People.”

In short, your submittals to the IPA Bulletin are encouraged, and, submittals once approved and edited can often be placed into production for publication within a few weeks to months. Additionally, our electronic capability provides the opportunity for IPA to communicate important news and scientific developments rapidly and effectively to our members. Stay Tuned!

Reprinted from IPA Bulletin, Volume 23, Number 1