Dementia for medical students

Improving knowledge/developing skills of pregraduate students to manage dementia

Scientific coordinator

Ioannis Zaganas, Assistant Professor of Neurology

Coordinating Department / Laboratory

Neurology Department, University Hospital of Heraklion, Crete (Chair P. Mitsias)

Departments / Laboratories participating

University of Crete:

  • Neurology Department (Ioannis Zaganas, Panayiotis Mitsias)
  • Internal Medicine Department (Symeon Panagiotakis)
  • Social Medicine Department (Christos Lionis, Ioanna Tsiligianni)
  • Psychiatry Department (Maria Basta, Panayiotis Simos)
  • Pathology Department (Anastasios Koutsopoulos)
  • Pharmacology Department (Ioannis Charalampopoulos)
  • Radiology Department (Efrosini Papadaki)
  • Museum of Medicine (Ioannis Tsiaoussis)

Other Institutions:

  • Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Magda Tsolaki)
  • National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (Elisabeth Kapaki, Nikolaos Scarmeas)
  • National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos, Athens, Greece (I. Sotiropoulos)
  • Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA (Nikolaos Robakis)
  • Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, USA (Constantine Lyketsos)
  • Alzheimer Association of Heraklion Alilegii, Heraklion, Crete, Greece

General Description

The prevalence of dementia is increasing in our times, posing a burden for modern societies and their health systems. Current medical students, as the physicians of the future, will be called to cope with the increasing number of patients with dementia.

The summer school “Dementia for medical students” aims to expose medical students to the challenges of detecting cognitive dysfunction and caring for patients with neurodegenerative disorders. This offers an opportunity to showcase the interdisciplinary approach employed in dementia care to optimize health outcomes. At the same time, students will be educated on the most recent developments in research for neurodegenerative disorders.

The structure of the program will entail both clinical practice and hands-on laboratory experience and lectures by distinguished scientists running in parallel. A total of 16 medical students will be practicing in groups in the departments involved in this summer school (Neurology, Internal Medicine, Psychiatry, Social Medicine) and the Laboratories of the University of Crete, Medical School (Neurogenetics/Neurodegenerative Disorders, Pharmacology, Pathology). At the same time, the group will attend courses at 1-4pm, by experts in the field of dementia.

Learning objectives

At the end of this summer schools, students should be able to:

  1. Screen for cognitive impairment
  2. Differentiate between mild cognitive impairment, mild behavioral impairment and dementia
  3. Diagnose Alzheimer’s disease, Lewy Body Dementia, Vascular Dementia and Frontotemporal Dementia
  4. Detect reversible causes of dementia
  5. Formulate management plans for different causes of dementia

The summer school "Dementia for medical students" was organized for the first time by the School of Medicine of UoC on July 4 -15th, 2022 with the participation of 14 medical students from various countries (Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Italy, and Poland). The educational program described above was joined by a social program, including an educational excursion to Spinalonga, where students were introduced to the medical history of the island by a skilled guide. This Summer School program was highly successful as judged by the comments of participating students.

Purpose of Training

The trainees are expected to acquire knowledge, based on an interdisciplinary approach on the management of dementia, both in the community and in a hospital setting.

Who is it for

Pre-graduate medical students

Duration / location

10 days, mid-July 2023 (Monday July 10th – Thursday July 20th )

Scientific-Organizing Committee

  • Ioannis Zaganas (Scientific Coordinator)
  • Panayiotis Mitsias (University of Crete)
  • Ioannis Charalampopoulos (University of Crete)
  • Elisabeth Kapaki (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)
  • Nikolaos Robakis (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, NY, USA)
  • Nikolaos Scarmeas (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens)
  • Panayiotis Simos (University of Crete)
  • Ioannis Sotiropoulos (National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos)
  • Magda Tsolaki (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki)

Educators

  • Ioannis Zaganas (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Panayiotis Mitsias (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Panayiotis Simos (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Sofia Koukouraki (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Maria Basta (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Ioannis Charalampopoulos (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Ioanna Tsiligianni (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Ioannis Tsiaoussis (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Efrosini Papadaki (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Symeon Panagiotakis (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Anastasios Koutsopoulos (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Emmanouil Papastefanakis (University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece)
  • Elisabeth Kapaki (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece)
  • Nikolaos Scarmeas (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece)
  • Ioannis Sotiropoulos (National Centre for Scientific Research Demokritos, Athens, Greece)
  • Magda Tsolaki (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece)
  • Nikolaos Robakis (Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, USA)
  • Constantine Lyketsos (Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA)

Draft social program (excursions, evenings, dinners, etc.)

During the summer school, one dinner and one excursion (with minimal fee) will be programmed, with the participation of students and educators.
For information on Heraklion: www.heraklion.gr/en

Student selection process (maximum number of students, evaluation criteria)

Maximum number of 16 students
5th and 6th year medical students
Evaluation of CV and motivation letter by the scientific committee

Application procedure

Online application (by email to zaganas@uoc.gr)
Deadline: May 31st, 2023

Tuition costs per participant

400 euros per student (includes welcome dinner but does not include travel, accommodation, and an optional excursion with lunch)

Additional comments

Accommodation and travel cost not included in the tuition fees; however, we aim to provide relevant information to participants.