3 Reasons to be Excited for AADE18
Aug 1, 2018, 11:00 AM
Where can you find a meeting that brings together physicians, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, pharmacists, registered dietitians, physician assistants, physiologists, optometrists, physical therapists, and podiatrists for four days of diabetes education? At AADE18, the American Association of Diabetes’ annual meeting happening August 17 through 20 in Baltimore, Maryland — but of course, you already knew that. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend AADE18, but I always get excited for other individuals and colleagues who may be or will be attending the meeting.
Every attendee will leave the meeting feeling elevated in their knowledge on diabetes education; innovative in their approach to practice; and motivated to make a difference in patients’ lives.
First, I love the slogans for the annual meetings. I think AADE is one of the most creative and innovative organizations with their annual themes. I mark AADE14’s slogan of “Refresh. Recharge. Renew.” as one to remember. This year, the slogan for AADE18 is “
Elevate. Innovate. Motivate.” I am sure the meeting will not disappoint as
Baltimore is a great place to visit for a conference and the variety of educational sessions and keynote speakers clearly match the slogan for the meeting. Every attendee will leave the meeting feeling
elevated in their knowledge on diabetes education;
innovative in their approach to practice; and
motivated to make a difference in patients’ lives.
Second, I would be so excited to listen to the keynote speakers, such as Robert A. Baggay, MD, PhD who is the Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President of Harvard Medical School Joslin Diabetes Center. He will be kicking off the meeting on Friday, August 17. Each day of the conference has different keynote speakers scheduled. The two keynote speakers, Soma Stout, MD, MS and Clydette Powell, MD, MPH, FAAP, will motivate attendees to make innovative changes in diabetes education in order to elevate the quality of patient education in healthcare.
Lastly, there are tons of relevant and hot topics covered in the various learning tracks of the meeting. Obviously, there are so many choices that there isn’t enough time to attend all of the sessions. It is always a difficult decision to decide between presentations, but I try to attend at least one pharmacy topic and explore other topics/presentations outside of my comfort zone in order to improve my knowledge, skills and attitudes. A good rule of thumb would be to attend a presentation from each of the nine learning tracks (if possible). Some highlights from the learning tracks include Business Models, Mastering Diabetes Complications Series, Population Health, and Prevention/Delay of Type 2 Diabetes.
Overall, I love AADE meetings and hate that I will miss this awesome, well-thought and well-planned meeting in Baltimore. Big congratulations to the 2018 Annual Planning Committee. All your hard work will pay off in a couple more weeks. I love the multidisciplinary contents of the schedule and the prospect of many healthcare professions coming together for patient care and diabetes education. Of course, I want to give a shout out to my pharmacy colleagues, who will be speaking at the AADE18 — though I know all presenters will do a fabulous job.
If you are attending the AADE meeting in Baltimore, what are you most looking forward to? Please share in the comments below!
About the Author
Jennifer Clements received her Doctorate of Pharmacy from Campbell University in 2006 and completed a primary care residency at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center in 2007. She is also a certified diabetes educator and board certified in pharmacotherapy. Currently, she is an Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice at Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy.