Posts from Dimitrios Protogiros

Tuesday March 26, 2019

I was walking to the congress venue thinking how fast time was running. This is maybe because of the wonderful time I have in Frankfurt and the top level of the conference.

Among the very interesting topics of the day, I want to highlight first an inspiring talk about the importance of palliative care integration in haematopoietic stem cell transplant patients’ care, in which Dr Barry Quinn showed us on how to see the person beyond the symptom.

There was also a social media session at the industry theater on which advantages, inconvenience and tips of social media in medicine were discussed. That day had also a presentation of the results of a retrospective study about the problems that HSCT patents are taking home, an important topic for nurses’ education practices with patients and caregivers in preparation for discharge. I had the opportunity to be involved in that project and to be the main reason why I am attending the EBMT 2019!

In addition to the sessions and the very good presentations, I also had meetings with colleagues and the Young Ambassadors. In the last one, we met with YAs of previous EBMT events and we had a productive one-hour discussion on how to build a community of YAs and our actions at the EBMT 2020 that will take place in Madrid!

The day closed with a lot of dance and fun at the networking event which held at the wonderful venue of the Botanic Garden of Frankfurt.

Monday March 26, 2019

As I prepared myself for the second day of the congress, I was wandering on how much more I have to see and to learn the following days!

Today’s programme featured influential speakers around hot topics, like the management of patients, their caregivers and us, the healthcare professionals. The programme involved relevant experts with the long-term survivorship and the hidden truth behind the transplantation, the complicated struggles of the survivors and the underestimated worries and needs of the patients; the assessment of the elderly patients, in which lecture was highlighted that our focus should be on how fit a patient is and not just how old is; and the session on how do I understand blood counts.

The session that I was waiting with patience and enthusiasm was the lecture on “Looking after the team: promoting resilience training”, presented by Ross Mclntosh. In that session was presented the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy theory in workplace for psychological well-being and the increase of psychological flexibility. That was a really important session for all of us who have to deal with stress and anxiety, in order to enable us to not only get through tough times, but to get stronger, too.

That day had also its “Big Time”, and that was the first meeting with the other EBMT19 Young Ambassadors (YAs) for the EBMT-TV interview. I am really thrilled of meeting all of them, Alessandro, Kateryna, Sagar, Zhemal, Sylvia and Sabine, and had the opportunity to join in such an amazing team of YAs and to build an international network! Their inspiration and passion make me feel really happy of being at the EBMT19! The night was also a fantastic opportunity for a dinner with YAs great company.

Sunday March 24, 2019

The EBMT2019 is taking place in Frankfurt, and the first day of this research and innovation event starts with a focus on the research and clinical priorities of the blood, bone and marrow transplantation. The #EBMT19 presents an opportunity for the health care professionals involved in the BMT to share their experience and vision of better care delivery and improvement to patients’ outcomes. In this event, participants join experts and distinguished leaders from all over the world to discuss the future in BMT.

In the following lines I have collected my highlights of the first day of the EBMT19.

My journey to the EBMT19 started with a stop to the Nurses Education Day. During the sessions the “Nursing challenges throughout the ages” were discussed. Some of them, which we face in our daily practice, were included the caregivers support, fertility challenges, the transition from adolescence to young adult and the secondary malignancies after the transplantation.

March 11, 2019

With only a couple of weeks left, I am starting to get ready for my trip to Frankfurt for #EBMT19, and to organise the sessions I want to attend. This event is a great opportunity for healthcare professionals in their early career, like me, to network with distinguished leaders in the field during the congress, and to be familiarised with the new research and development in bone and marrow transplantation, including new studies and cutting-edge topics in haematology.

Among the interesting sessions of this year programme there are some that I really don’t want to miss and I will try to go to as many as I can. In particular, the Nurses Education Day, in which will be discussed challenges through the ages (like special considerations in elderly patients or the transition from adolescence to young adult), gender, survivorship issues (like fertility challenges, how to improve pre- and post- transplant outcomes). Thereafter, there are other types of sessions that I am looking forward to attend and that I feel that are outstanding reviews of the current state-of-the art in the field. Some of them are related to radiotherapy principles in the transplant treatment pathway and the management of new toxicities. There are other sessions that look very interesting such as the "Social Media Session", which will help me to connect with people and to share experiences via SoMe; the "Statistical Courses" and "How to get your manuscript published", which will improve my skills in writing and publishing; and a very fascinating presentation on "Looking after the team: promoting resilience training".

However going to EBMT 2019 would not be complete if I don't take advantage of this opportunity to get to see and enjoy the city of Frankfurt, one of Germany's leading tourist destinations with many internationally famous tourist attractions.