Creating a Global Community of Practice In Geriatric Mental Health: The Key Ingredients

Speakers: Dr. Christopher Kitamura & Dr. Cindy Grief. Moderated by Dr. Raj Rasasingham, MD, FRCPC, Director of Continuing Professional and Practice Development

Hosted by the University of Toronto and Baycrest.

Dr. Kitamura is a staff geriatric psychiatrist at Baycrest Centre. He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry, Division of Geriatric Psychiatry, at the University of Toronto. He is a Board Member of the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry and Chair of the Communications Committee, and member of the UofT Geriatric Psychiatry Residency Program Committee and Baycrest Site Director. He is the Co-Founder and Co-Chair of International Geriatric Mental Health Network (I-GeMH) and the Canadian Geriatric Substance Use Disorders Course for Geriatric Psychiatry Subspecialty Residents. He has presented nationally and internationally on the topic of substance use disorders and sleep disorders in older adults. He is a passionate educator and recipient of numerous teaching awards, including the Department of Psychiatry Robin Hunter Postgraduate Teaching Award and the Baycrest New and Emerging Teacher Award.

Dr. Cindy Grief is a Geriatric Psychiatrist at Baycrest Health Sciences, where she is the Medical Director for Mental Health and the Physician Lead for Wellness. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Psychiatry in the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She is the Co-founder and Co-chair of the International Geriatric Mental Health Education network, and has presented nationally and internationally on virtual continuing professional development. Dr. Grief is a graduate of both the Education Scholars Program and the New and Emerging Leaders Program in the Centre for Faculty Development at the University of Toronto. While on staff at Baycrest, she completed her Masters’ of Science degree in Medical Anthropology at UofT in order to enhance her understanding of cross-cultural bereavement, an area of clinical interest. Dr. Grief runs the bereavement module for the Canadian Academy of Geriatric Psychiatry’s national Geriatric Psychiatry Online Course, for which she is also the Course Director. Dr. Grief feels strongly about matters of equity and currently represents the Division of Geriatric Psychiatry on the Department’s EDIIA Education and Training Council.

Learning Objectives:
- Describe the process of launching of an international virtual education initiative
- Discuss how to optimize engagement in virtual learning
- Review the key ingredients needed for a virtual global community of practice in geriatric mental health