A couple of weekends ago, many of the BJC team were fortunate to be involved with the inaugural BJC JAM – our very own Joint and Musculoskeletal disease Conference, held at The Novotel in Sydney’s Olympic Park, Homebush Bay.
Thanks to great organisation by Dr Irwin Lim, and also some sponsorship from pharmaceutical companies, we were able to educate 100 GPs and physiotherapists about arthritis. For many physiotherapists, it is a rare opportunity to learn more about the different forms of arthritis.
The day also consisted of some practical sessions, where we were all able to learn from some very knowledgeable orthopaedic surgeons and our very own rheumatologists about how they perform joint assessments.
I was fortunate to have been able to speak about physiotherapy management for knee osteoarthritis. Speaking at such conferences is a great opportunity to share what I feel is considered best care for such a condition. Although a daunting experience (my heart was definitely racing at times), the opportunity to get up and speak in front of a crowd is always a great chance to improve my public speaking skills.
One particular point of interest for both the GPs and physios who attended was the new braces that now exist to help reduce pain and improve biomechanics for those patients who have knee osteoarthritis.
Apart from the ability to share knowledge, a conference like this helps to foster discussion in the weeks to come especially when a significant proportion of our team were involved. Nothing better than being on the same page and working through problems or even new possibilities with patient management. Attending conferences seems to always reinvigorate my fascination with the human body. In this instance, seeing all our doctors and physiotherapists come together and present at the BJC JAM also reminded me why I am proud to be a part of the BJC family.
With our first BJC JAM complete, many of us are already excited for what we can do next year. Watch this space!