EGPRN to hold spring meeting in Slovenia

April, 2012

The 2012 spring meeting of EGPRN will be held in Ljubljana, Slovenia, from May 10–13, 2012. The theme of the meeting is Quality improvement in the care of chronic disease in family practice: the contribution of education and research.

Besides freestanding papers, they expect thematic presentations on the assessment of structured care for chronic disease, research on organisational aspects (ie information systems, recalling and appointment systems), and the role of the practice team. Differences in the organisation of structured care, personal preferences of the patients, and shared decision making present other interesting aspects of this theme.

EGPRN will collaborate with Euract, who will organise a preconference workshop about vocational education and training in quality improvement. Experts in quality improvement research and education are invited as keynote  speakers. Moreover, EGPRN will discuss its strategy for the future (2014–2017) during a special, extended council meeting on the Thursday.

As always the EGPRN conference is the place to meet and discuss research ideas, the place for critical but constructive comments on your presentation and the place where junior researchers can find good advice, mentoring and motivation for future work. More information at http://www.egprn.org.

EGPRN in Krakow in 2011

Sourced from European Journal of General Practice, 2012; 18: 67–68

http://informahealthcare.com/doi/full/10.3109/13814788.2011.652613

From 13–16 October 2011, the EGPRN met in Krakow, the renowned medieval city in the south of Poland. The theme of this conference was ‘Infectious diseases in primary care: managing the interface between the person and the community.’ The sessions were organized in the historic city council, with the support of The Polish College of Family Physicians.

On Thursday, there were three pre-conference workshops. The attendees of the workshop ‘Focusing Research Questions’ (led by C Berkhout and S Chlabicz) came with their own research proposals. In the workshop on ‘Infectious Disease’ (led by S Coenen, M Godycki-Cwirko, T Verheij, and W Hryniewicz), several examples were presented of collaborative research on RTI management in primary care from the GRACE and CHAMP study groups, respectively. The workshop ‘Dealing with Medical Errors’ (led by M Godycki-Cwirko and M Beyer) covered basics in patient safety, identifying critical incidents and learning from medical errors. Simultaneously, two international collaborative study groups funded by EGPRN, held working meetings: ‘The womanpower’ group (investigates elements that influence the choice to become and stay a GP) and the ‘Cogita’ study team (concerned with building a glossary related to ‘gut feelings’ in general practice). On Thursday evening, during the Welcome reception, participants had an opportunity to catch up and network over cocktails at the city hall of Krakow.

Professor Adam Windak of host city Krakow

On Friday, Professor Adam Windak from Krakow outlined the history of Family Medicine in Poland, and its challenges concerning future academic development and the role in the Polish health care system. Professor Samuel Coenen from Antwerp reviewed the main topics concerning the management of infectious diseases in Primary Care. During the day, there were 15 presentations in four different sessions, on urinary tract infections, respiratory tract infections, and freestanding topics. On Friday evening, many of our colleagues participated in site visits to Health Centres in Krakow, hosted by local family doctors.

On Saturday, Professor Waleria Hryniewicz outlined the risks related to Streptococcus Pneumonia infections, with special emphasis on different clinical contexts, prevention, early diagnosis and treatment. During the day, a variety of oral presentations, posters and one slide/five minutes presentations, both on thematic and freestanding topics, were presented and discussed in parallel sessions. On Saturday evening, participants had the opportunity to reflect on their experiences during the Gala Dinner, enjoying good food, drinks and music in the heart of Krakow's old town.

Overall, nearly 140 participants from over 29 countries took part in this meeting and enjoyed the charming atmosphere of the old capital of Poland. Participant feedback was very positive and the successful organizers look forward to supporting on-going GP research.

Witold Lukas, Slawomir Czachowski, Teresa Pawlikowska & Davorina Petek