The National CME on Geriatric Mental Health 2022, organized by the department of Psychiatry Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences (MGIMS), under the aegis of Indian Association of Geriatric Mental Health (IAGMH), was convened on 10th December 2022 from 8am to 6pm at the Sarojini Naidu Hall, MGIMS. The event was sponsored by the National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS). The theme of the CME was “Preserving the Cognitive Reserve”. It was conducted in a hybrid mode. The occasion was notable with the gracious presence of stalwarts in psychiatry from all over India coming under one platform to discuss on diverse topics related to geriatric mental health care.
The CME commenced at 8 am with award paper presentation for the resident doctors. Post graduate trainees from different colleges and departments presented research papers related to geriatric mental health. Dr. Tejaswini Vasave, resident in Psychiatry, NKPSIMS, Nagpur and Dr. Prashanth K, resident in Physiology at MGIMS were awarded first and second prizes respectively. Annual General Body Meeting of IAGMH took place from 9 to 10 AM in the department of Psychiatry where the office bearers had discussions, deliberations and resolutions on various concerns related to geriatric mental health.
CME inauguration ceremony was held at 9 am. It began with traditional lamp lighting and paying tribute to Bapu, Ba and Badi Bahanji. The event was graced by the presence of Dr. B.S. Garg, Hon. Secretary Kasturba Health Society who was the Chief Guest of the function. In his speech he appreciated psychiatry department for the organizing the national CME program and highlighted the importance of the theme focusing on the need for elderly care in the present society. Dr. Nitin Gangane, Dean MGIMS who was the guest of honour of the program welcomed all office bearers of IAGMH namely Dr. Gautam Saha Hon President, Dr. Alka Subramanyam Hon Vice President, Dr. Neelanjana Paul Hon Secretary, Dr. Sandeep Grover Hon Editor and Dr. K.K. Mishra the organizing chairman of the CME. The dignitaries were felicitated in a traditional way. There were short felicitation speeches by the dignitaries. The E-souvenir of the CME was released by the chief guest, Dr. B S Grag Hon. Secretary MGIMS and a copy was handed over to Dr. Gautam Saha, Hon. President, and IAGMH. Vote of thanks was proposed by the organizing secretary Dr. Harshal Sathe. The inaugural function ended with National Anthem
The day’s sessions began with symposia on prevention and treatment of psychiatric problems in geriatric population at 10 am. In the first part, Dr. Indira Sharma (Professor and HOD at BHU Varanasi) spoke about the importance of lifestyle modification in prevention of dementia. Prof. P.B Behere(Past Head, Psychiatry Department MGIMS, Past Vice Chancellor, DY Patil medical college Pune) and Prof. P. Narang(Past Head, Microbiology Department, and Past Secretary, MGIMs) were chair persons for this session. Dr. Suyog Jaiswal (Associate professor Psychiatry at AIIMS Nagpur) talked about the “pharmacological options in the management of Behavioural and Psychological symptoms in dementia” which was chaired by Dr. Subodh Gupta (Professor PSM, MGIMS). This was followed by the topic “Cognitive Enhancers –Which Patients are going to respond” presented by Dr.Abhijeet Faye, Assistant Professor Psychiatry at NKP Salve Institute, Nagpur chaired by Prof. Sumit Kar(Prof and head, Dermatology, MGIMS) and Dr. Ashish Srivastava (Associate Professor at Goa Medical College) elaborated on future drugs in dementia treatment currently under trial. The chair person for the symposia was Dr. Dilip Gupta (Prof and head of surgery, MGIMS, Sewagram). A debate was followed on the topic “should euthanasia be permitted or not.” Dr.Vijaykumar Harbishettar (Assistant Prof. Geriatric psychiatry unit in NIMHANS Bangalore) put forth the arguments in support. Dr. Naresh Vadlamani (Consultant Psychiatrist, Hyderabad) debated against the allowance of euthanasia and advocated the attempts to preserve life or avoid doing harm even when there is minimal chance of survival. This session was moderated by Dr. Alka Subramanyam.
In the plenary session that followed, Dr. NilmadhabKar (Professor of Psychiatry, UK) presented on prevention of mental health concerns in older adults mainly in the Indian context. Dr. P.S. Nagpure (Prof and Head ENT, MGIMS) chaired this session. In the second plenary session, Dr. P.T. Sivakumar (Professor and head of geriatric unit NIMHANS Bangalore) spoke about current status of Dementia in India. Dr. Imran Ali Shivaji(Consultant psychiatrist, Chandrapur) chaired this session.
Panel discussion by experts, Dr. Gautam Saha (Consultant Psychiatrist, Kolkata), Dr. Jahnavi Kedare(Additional Professor of Psychiatry at BYL, Nair Hospital, Mumbai), Dr. Neelanjana Paul and Dr. Alka Subramanyam (Associate Prof. Psychiatry at BYL Nair Hospital, Mumbai) was done on the subject,“how to deal with families at high risk of dementia.”They discussed the importance of lifestyle modifications and screening at regular intervals in the individuals having higher likelihood of dementia development. The workshop with an interactive session on “Management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia” was conducted by Dr. Sandeep Grover (Professor of Psychiatry Department at PGI, Chandigarh) and Dr. Sreelakshmi V. (Assistant Professor at AIIMS, Nagpur).
There was a poster competition for the post graduate attended by 11 delegates who presented on the topics related to the geriatric mental health which were. These posters were displayed in the adjoining hall throughout the CME. The posters by Dr. Madhura Godbole, Dr. Sagar Bhalke and Dr.Mouni Nagda bagged first, second and third prizes respectively. Here was post test evaluation and feedback from participants. The program ended with the valedictory session which was chaired by Dr. Gautam Saha and vote of thanks. During this veteran psychiatrist Prof. PB Behere and Emeritus professor of Microbiology and past Secretary of MGIMS, Prof Pratiba Narang were honoured and felicitated. The program was attended by 43 registered participants whose active participation made the sessions vibrant and lively. Overall it was an enriching scientific fest with day long discussions and learning on the advances and pragmatic aspects in the field of geriatric mental health.