by Jennifer Kowalewski
For
the fourth year in a row, the college will focus its attention on
continuing medical education (CME) for its alumni physicians at the
2005 OU-COM/Ohio Society American College of Osteopathic Family
Physicians CME Conference. Set for Friday, Oct. 7, through Sunday,
Oct. 9, in Columbus, the conference will explore various medical
topics and features keynote speaker Michelle May, M.D.
May, author of the award
winning “Am I Hungry? What To Do When Diets Don’t Work,” will
examine why successful long-term weight management does not lie with
the combination of diet and exercise. Rather, individuals must
develop healthful eating patterns in response to hunger, learning in
the process to meet their other, non-hunger related needs in ways
other than eating, says May.
According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity among adults has risen
significantly in the United States in the past 20 years. The latest
data from the National Center for Health Statistics show 30 percent
of U.S. adults, more than 60 million people, are obese. Obesity has
serious implications for Americans’ health because being overweight
can lead to diseases such as hypertension, diabetes and coronary
heart disease.
May, past president of
the Arizona Academy of Family Physicians, founded and is the medical
director of Am I Hungry?™, a multidimensional weight management
program based in Phoenix, Ariz. She will discuss the reasons diets
fail, while exploring more effective, intuitive approaches to weight
loss and eating.
“It isn’t that diets
don’t work,” says May, “It’s being able to sustain them over the
long haul — maintaining that weight loss. People vacillate being on
and off diets. That’s the problem for the majority of people.”
May says her
presentations are designed to get physicians and other health
professionals to look at weight management and the problem of
overeating from a different perspective.
Her program, she says,
moves the weight-loss paradigm away from excessive dieting and
exercise to more sustainable, realistic approaches that people can
naturally integrate into their everyday lives.
“If we can teach people
skills and tools instead of rules, in the long run they will be
successful in weight management.”
May is also scheduled to
speak to a group of health professionals from across Southeastern
Ohio Thursday, Oct. 6, at the Ohio University Inn.
The three-day CME
conference features more than 20 medical education seminars,
including “Management of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease,” “Hemochromatosis:
What You Should Know,” “Fibromyalgia and the Use of Trigger Point
Injections,” “Assessment and Management of Pain in the Palliative
Care Patient” and “Pediatric Asthma Management.” Joint Injection and
Trigger Point and Spirometry workshops, held in concert with the
American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, are also
available during the weekend.
“The conference not only
allows for professional growth, it provides a weekend during which
OU-COM alumni can reconnect with each other,” says Sharon
Zimmerman, director of alumni affairs and conference organizer.
“Those who graduated
from the college in 1980 — our first class of osteopathic physicians
— are invited back for their 25th class reunion.”
CME facilitators include
Jay Shubrook, D.O. (’96); David Plundo, D.O.; Thomas Anderson,
D.O. (’83); and Richard Radnovich, D.O. (’97). Dean
Jack Brose, D.O., will update participants on the college at the
yearly meeting and awards ceremony held during the luncheon
Saturday, Oct. 8.
OU-COM is approved as an
accredited CME provider by the American Osteopathic Association.
Those attending the conference may be eligible for up to 20 hours of
Category 1A credit by the AOA; application for CME credit has been
filed with the American Academy of Family Physicians.
For information, call
Sharon Zimmerman at (740) 593-2176 or email zimmerms@ohio.edu.
