Dear Colleague, To anyone working in the field of geriatric psychiatry or pursuing an academic career in this specialty, the AAGP stands out as a special organization that represents and serves its members unlike any other. It has earned the reputation of a remarkable collegial guild where members are eager to offer opportunity and support to their colleagues. Such an atmosphere was prevalent during the Association's 19th Annual Meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico. More than 1200 researchers, clinicians, and educators were in attendance, making this the largest and most successful AAGP meeting to date. The AAGP's mission is to enhance the knowledge base and standards of practice in geriatric psychiatry through education and research, and by advocating for the mental health needs of the elderly. All of MedEdMentoring's advisory board members had a strong presence at AAGP.  Of note, Martha L. Bruce, PhD, MPH; Gwenn Smith, PhD; and Charles F. Reynolds III, MD, were faculty members at the symposium Broadening the Research Training Base Through New Technologies. Our congratulations also go to Jürgen Unützer, MD, MA, MPH, who received the 2006 Distinguished Scientist Award for his contributions to research in the field of geriatric psychiatry. At AAGP, MedEdMentoring participated both as exhibitors and as presenters of a poster abstract, Improving the Quality of Mental Health Services and Interventions Research Mentoring: Development of Educational Models and Procedures. Next month, we will also be attending the American Psychiatric Association meeting in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. We look forward to seeing you there. Sincerely, Stephen J. Bartels, MD, MS; Martha L. Bruce, PhD, MPH; Maureen Halpain, MS; Barry D. Lebowitz, PhD; Charles F. Reynolds III, MD; Gwenn Smith, PhD; Joel E. Streim, MD; Jürgen Unützer, MD, MPH, MA

MedicalUpdates
Challenges Confronting Female Surgical Leaders: Overcoming the Barriers.
Kass RB, Souba WW, Thorndyke LE.
J Surg Res. 2006 Mar 24; [Epub ahead of print]
The purpose of this study was to identify: 1) barriers to becoming a female surgical leader; 2) key attributes that enable advancement and success; and 3) current leadership challenges faced as senior leaders.

Lessons learned from a mentored graduate program in gerontological nursing.
Mackin LA, Macera E, Jennings D.
J Prof Nurs. 2006 Mar-Apr;22(2):137-41.
An educational training grant provided the funding for a 3-year project to recruit candidates into a mentored and redesigned gerontological advanced practice nursing program.

Effectiveness of a geriatric medical student scholars program: a qualitative assessment.
Goldenhar LM, Kues JR.
J Am Geriatr Soc. 2006 Mar;54(3):527-34.
This article describes a 4-year Geriatric Medical Student Scholars (GMSS) program in which medical students participated in a variety of extracurricular geriatrics-related activities such as one-on-one mentoring and discussion groups.

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MostViewedPresentations
General
Writing Grant Proposals: The Practical Application of Clinical Research Theory
Sharon K. Inouye, MD, MPH
This talk guides the viewer step by step through the writing of a grant proposal and explains the importance of this process.

Geriatric
Junior Faculty Scholars Program
Charles F. Reynolds III, MD
Dr. Reynolds describes how the Junior Faculty Scholars (JFS) program offers graduates of postdoctoral fellowship programs an opportunity to continue to have part-time support as assistant professors for purposes of continuing pilot work and preparing K award applications.


MostReadArticles  
General
Views of family medicine department chairs about mentoring junior faculty.
Koopman RJ, Thiedke CC.
Med Teach. 2005 Dec;27(8):734-7.
Mentoring can be a key component contributing to the success of faculty. We investigated the attitudes of family medicine department chairs toward mentoring, with emphasis on mentoring female and minority faculty.

Geriatric
The Johns Hopkins Geriatric Summer Scholars program: a model to increase diversity in geriatric medicine.
Simpson CF, Durso SC, Fried LP, Bailey T, Boyd CM, Burton J.
J Am Geriatr Soc. 2005 Sep;53(9):1607-12.
This article describes the outcomes of the first 3 years of the Johns Hopkins Geriatric Summer Scholars program, with an emphasis on curriculum development and the recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority medical students.


InTheNews
American Association for the Advancement of Science Mentor Awards
AAAS.org
The AAAS Mentor Awards honor individuals who during their careers demonstrate extraordinary leadership to increase the participation of underrepresented groups in science and engineering fields and careers. The deadline for submission is July 31.

Cracking the tax code
Nature, March 2006
According to the scientific research society Sigma Xi, about half the recipients of National Research Service Awards (NRSAs) they surveyed are paying thousands of dollars in unnecessary social-security contributions.

Emerging into the light
Nature, March 2006
The Emerging Researcher Programme (ERP) at the University of Cape Town in South Africa pairs junior faculty members with retired colleagues chosen for their outstanding research record and proven mentoring skills.

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