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.
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