Association of University Departments of General Practice in Ireland Annual Scientific Meeting Belfast, 27th February 2004

Delegates attending the Annual Scientific Meeting of the AUDGPI - Belfast, February 2004

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Programme for the Scientific Meeting

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Welcome

Welcome to Queen's 2004

On behalf of Queen's University Belfast and its department of General Practice I am delighted to welcome you
to the Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM) of our Association. Thanks to the enthusiasm of our membership the Association
of University Departments of General Practice in Ireland (AUDGPI) now provides a significant forum for our work.
Our membership now includes not only general practitioners but a range of nursing and non-clinical academics,
all with an interest in primary care.

The quality and volume of submissions this year was very impressive. There are also a growing number of research collaborations
between the (now) seven constituent departments. We appreciate the opportunities offered by the Health Research Board in Dublin
and the Research and Development Office in Belfast. We are now just beginning to see the results of these partnerships.

I want to thank our local subcommittee of Drew Gilliland, Nigel Hart, Kieran McGlade and, in particular, Cathleen Agnew,
our Departmental Secretary. Their various inputs to the preparation of this meeting have been very effective.

Thank you all for your support of this meeting.

Best wishes.

Professor Philip M. Reilly
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Chairman's Foreword

The AUDGPI annual scientific meeting has become a social and academic event for primary care on this island. This year we meet in Belfast for the first time
and I know that planning has been going on for some months and that the peer review process is as rigorous as ever. The use of the web has been exploited to lend
efficiency and promptness to the meeting. The organisers have been sufficiently flexible to organise the programme around the wishes of the membership
and delegates are sure to find papers, posters and workshops that interest them. The moderated poster session is a development that will be worth attending.
We welcome Graham Watt as our keynote speaker and look forward to a thoughtful and stimulating paper. Graham takes a lively interest in this island of ours
and will want us to visit the Society of Primary Care annual scientific meeting in Glasgow in July 14th to 16th. I want to say a special thank you to Andrew Murphy
who was our ever efficient and far seeing AUDGPI secretary for the last four years. He is now on sabbatical in Adelaide and sends his best wishes to everyone.
Colin Bradley is our new secretary and is a pleasure to work with. The secretary is the key post in our organisation and there is a big drop between the status of secretary
and that of chairman. Medical education is receiving much needed attention in the South with the establishment of the working group on medical education
under the chairmanship of Prof Patrick Fottrell. The AUDGPI has been asked to make a submission and a copy is available from Colin Bradley.
Deans, government, students and specialists all agree that our students should be receiving more primary care but we are discovering that universal agreement is not enough.
We need resources if we are to deliver. Prof Gerard Bury from UCD steps down from the Medical Council where he has served as President with vigour and distinction
for over seven years. His colleagues in the AUDGPI salute him. Next year it is Trinity's turn to host the ASM and we look forward to welcoming everyone
and to having a good meeting.
Tom O'Dowd
Chair AUDGPI
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Oral Presentations

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Poster Presentations

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Bursaries

The Republic of Ireland faculty of the RCGP have initiated travel bursaries for attendance and presentation to the AUDGPI
Any medical or allied professional from the Republic of Ireland may avail of this bursary provided they are presenting at the meeting
or at least have submitted an abstract. The bursary will cover the cost of travel to the meeting either by public transport or by private
transport at the normal College mileage rate.
Applications for this bursary may be made to the college treasurer, Dr Joe Martin (joe.martin@cambridgeclinic.com)

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Keynote Speaker - Biographical Details

Professor Graham CM Watt
MD FRCGP FFPHM FRCP FMedSci
Norie Miller Professor of General Practice
University of Glasgow

Professor Watt graduated at Aberdeen University in 1976 and, in a varied career, trained in general practice
at Glyncorrwg in South Wales, Ladywell Medical Centre in Edinburgh and Townhead Health Centre in Glasgow.
He has also worked as a senior medical officer within the Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Home and Health Department
and as a senior lecturer in public health at the University of Glasgow. He took up his current post in 1994.

He has longstanding research interests in the epidemiology of health and disease in families, inequalities in health
and health care and the development of academic capacity in primary care. He is just completing a three year term
as the elected chair of the Heads of Department Group of UK University Departments of General Practice and Primary Care.

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Keynote Speech Abstract

THE LONG MARCH - ACADEMIC GENERAL PRACTICE IN THE UK Professor Graham Watt Norie Miller Professor of General Practice University of Glasgow

Between 1986 and 2001, the number of professors in university departments of general practice and primary care in the UK increased from 16 to 66, while the proportion of non-clinical staff rose from 10% to 32%. Contributions to undergraduate medical curricula tripled to an average of 9% (range 4-20%). About one third of all general practices are involved in undergraduate teaching.

Collectively in 2001, the 31 departments held 178 research grants worth more than £100,000 each. In the most recent university research assessment exercise (RAE), five departments achieved ratings of 5 or 5*, indicating that academic primary care in the UK is capable of achieving the highest international standards of research excellence.

These are indicators of substantial achievement and progress, but there are still many problems to address. The number of senior academic general practitioners remains a small fraction of the ratio which exists for all other major clinical disciplines. The academic career structure is characterised by uncertainty, financial disadvantage and problems of acquiring both clinical and academic expertise. The number of higher research degrees by general practitioners remains very small. Non-clinical academic careers in primary care remain highly uncertain. There are far more opportunities than the current small number of senior academic staff can possibly address.

This paper will comment on recent progress, reflect on current problems and briefly consider what the future may hold, with a particular focus on ways in which UK experience can inform developments in the Irish departments and primary health care systems - a key strategy being to highlight ways in which academic general practice and primary care can be part of the solution to problems facing universities and the health service.

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Prizes

Prizes were awarded at the meeting as follows:

- Best abstract for an oral presentation - Dr David Whitford (RCSI) "Sustainability and effectiveness of comprehensive diabetes care to a district population"
- Best abstract from a newcomer - Dr Barry Kelly (QUB) "A randomised controlled trial to test the hypothesis that text message reminders improves attendance for new patient medicals."
- Best poster presentation - Patricia White (TCD) "Adults with diabetes: A family perspective"
- Medical Student Prize - Aine Burke (Galway) "The Management of Hypothyroidism"

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CME Credits

POSTGRADUATE EDUCATION ALLOWANCE: NICPMDE & ICGP

The meeting has been credited by the Northern Ireland Council for Postgraduate Medical and Dental Education (NICPMDE) for 5/6 day,
equally distributed among the categories of "Health Promotion, Disease Management & Service Management".

The Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) has confirmed approval for today's meeting for CME/CAS.

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Peer Review

Oral presentation

All abstracts submitted for oral presentation will be scored independently by 2 referees on a 0-5 point scale (where 0=unmarkable and 5=remarkable, not to be missed). All abstracts scoring 8 or over will be reviewed by members of the AUDGPI conference committee.  

Posters

All poster submissions will be assessed by two referees on a 0-2 point scale (0=reject, 1=accept and 2=accept and note high quality content).

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