January 4, 2005

Mental Health Is The Topic Of The 2005 'Idaho Mini Medical School' For The General Public, Registration Ends Jan. 18

“Mental Health and Illness” is the topic of the 3rd annual Idaho Mini Medical School, a series of five evening programs in January and February geared toward the general public. The series, which will provide up-to-date information on mental health and illness in children, adults and seniors, is presented as a community service by the University of Washington School of Medicine, in conjunction with the WWAMI (Idaho) Office for Clinical Medical Education and the first-year WWAMI medical student program. The series aims to bring understanding of medical issues to the general public and to individuals interested in pursuing health care careers. (WWAMI is the Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho medical school program coordinated by the University of Washington.) Registration costs $35 and the deadline for registration is Jan. 18. The Idaho Mini Medical School program will be held on five consecutive Wednesday evenings from 7-9 p.m. at St. Luke’s Regional Medical Center’s Anderson Center — Jan. 26, Feb. 2, 9, 16, and 23. For registration information call St. Luke’s at (208) 381-1200. Scholarships are available. Each session will open with a short presentation by an Idaho WWAMI medical student describing medical school training. Topics will then be presented by University of Washington School of Medicine physician faculty, area health professionals and professors from University of Idaho, Boise State University and Idaho State University. Topics will include: how the brain works; how psychoactive drugs work in the brain; mental health in children; ADD, ADHD and learning disabilities; teenage depression and suicide; adult depression and bipolar disorder; anxiety disorders; somatization, sexual abuse and chronic pain; women’s mental health across the ages; chronic fatigue syndrome; cognitive changes in aging; senile dementia and Alzheimer’s disease; Parkinson’s disease and stroke; and other topics. In addition to providing updates on mental health, the program is intended to encourage interest in health-care fields, explain the training and instruction received by medical students, discuss pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options, and encourage the general public to take responsibility for their own health and disease management. This is the third year of this very popular Idaho Mini Medical School program. Registration is limited to about 100 people and is expected to fill up quickly, so pre-registration is required. The first two years’ themes were heart disease and lung diseases. Participants were members of the general public, students and health-care practitioners. In addition to University of Washington, St. Luke’s and the three Idaho universities, program sponsors include Ada Canyon Medical Education Consortium, Ada County Medical Society, Blue Cross of Idaho, Family Medicine Residency of Idaho, Idaho Academy of Family Physicians, Idaho AHEC, Idaho Hospital Association, Idaho Medical Association, Regence Blue Shield of Idaho, Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center, and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center-Boise. -30- Contacts: Dana L. Ellis or Dr. James Blackman, WWAMI (Idaho) Office for Clinical Medical Education, (208) 327-0641, danae@uwashington.edu  Media Contacts: Kathleen Craven, (208) 426-3275, kcraven@boisestate.edu