The Geriatric Emergencies Symposium, which was organized with the cooperation of our university and ATUDER, was held on Friday, December 20th at the Erich Frank Conference Hall. Our Rector Prof. Dr. Rümeyza Kazancıoğlu, President of ATUDER Prof. Dr. Başar Cander, Head of Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Prof. Dr. Teoman Aydın, Head of Department of Emergency Medicine Assoc. Dr. Bedia Gülen, Assoc. Dr. Pınar Soysal of the Geriatrics Department, our academicians, guests and students attended the conference.
Our Rector Prof. Dr. Rümeyza Kazancıoğlu, who held a speech about the subject of 'fluid-electrolyte in geriatric patients', stated ; "In fact, the loss of fluid-electrolyte in other people and the loss of fluid-electrolyte in geriatric patients are not very different from each other. I would like to remind you why we should take a different approach in geriatric patients: Over time, with aging, the kidneys shrink, and their weight decreases. In other words with aging, the kidneys performance, i.e their function rate is reduced, and the filtration process becomes unable to accumulate toxic substances in the kidneys. In addition, the presence of additional diseases in geriatric patients makes care and treatment much more difficult" and continued to explain how to approach geriatric patients.
Among the keynote speakers, ATUDER President Prof. Dr. Başar Cander, stated ; "Bezmiâlem Vakıf University is very happy to take part in such an important organization. Bezmiâlem has a special place within us. It is the first medical university, as well as being the continuation of a large school of the Ottoman heirloom. I started my college education at the Erich Frank Amphitheater 35 years ago. Medicine is a very difficult branch but Emergency Medicine is probably one of the most difficult professions in the world. Because a patient with dental pain comes in with 70 diagnosis' and you have to recognise all of those diseases. I compare Emergency Medical Specialists to combat soldiers fighting in the front in a 24-hour non-stop war, so I want you to know that we have a very important mission and that we are doing a difficult job. Thus, here we will present contents related to geriatric emergencies. The elderly are our pride. A country is as valuable as the value it gives to the elderly. Unfortunately, as a country, we face difficulties in elderly care. Therefore, we should give importance to our elders and I hope that the 'Geriatric Emergencies Symposium', pioneered by an important university like Bezmiâlem, will be an example for other universities."
In their opening speech, Head of the Emergency Medicine Department Assoc. Dr. Bedia Gülen said: "According to the data of 2019, the population of our country is increasing gradually. We started planning for the Geriatric Emergencies Symposium a long time ago, but we have had to implement it in a very short time. Abroad, especially in developed countries, there are regulations regarding elderly patient care and treatment. We are also conducting a survey to take a small picture of our country on this subject. Today we expect everyone to support our research ".
Speaking about 'Physiological Changes in Aging', Assoc. Dr. Pınar Sosyal stated, "The reason for the Geriatric Emergencies Symposium is the physiological changes that occur with aging because aging is a complex process. Multifactorial factors are at the forefront and are irreversible. Aging is inevitable, but does not progress the same way in everyone. Some are active while others are more fragile" and continued to discuss the changes under four main headings (cellular changes, changes in physical appearance, changes in sensory organs and changes in organ systems).
The symposium, which focuses on pre-hospital management of geriatric patients, crowded emergency department and geriatric patient triage, primary assessment and stabilization of geriatric patients, imaging and nephropathy in geriatric patients, drug use in geriatric patients, traps in geriatric patient management in the emergency departments, infective emergencies in geriatric patients, cognitive changes in geriatric patients, depression in acute geriatric care, syncope management in geriatric patients, ended with the presentation of the participation certificate to the speakers.
