Read on for posts from Sylvia (Shuk-Yin) Tsang, one of our EBMT2019 Young Ambassadors. Along with the other candidates selected, she will be sending in posts before, during, and after the Annual Meeting to share her perspectives on the event. To go back to the Young Ambassadors page and learn more about the rest of the honorees, click the button below.
Day#3
Trying to beat the crowd this morning, I decided to go poster viewing and leave my traces on the Hope For Life painting! It is such a beautiful and meaningful piece of artwork from patients recovered through CAR-T cell therapy.
We then get to hear a panel discussion from Dr Mohamad Mohty (@Mohty_EBMT), Dr Navneet Majhail (@BldCancerDoc), Orla Stewart (@TheEMBT_Nurses), and Gillian Adams (@GillianRAdams), discussing the pros and cons with the use of social media in medicine.
The biggest event of the day was meeting with EBMT executive office, #EBMT19 Young Ambassadors, and other past YAs. It was great to brainstorm different ways to promote and engage other young professionals to form the EBMT Young Community. We came up with one way to sustain the community by creating our own hashtag: #EBMTYC. We will have a dedicated YA session in Madrid 2020 and it will be very exciting!
Day#2
Monday March 25, 2019
Today I get to meet with other talented #EBMT19 Young Ambassadors from all over the world. We as young professionals are shaping the next generation of health care with new ideas and innovative approaches. I'm also very proud to be part of this global EBMT community with nurses, doctors, scientists, and other allied health professionals who dedicate their passion and knowledge in this ever-growing field of medicine.
One session that stood out today was "how to build up a successful transplant program for the population of a lower-middle income country". The presentations were inspirational, focusing on challenges with limited resources and funds to provide HSCT in developing countries. It was also interesting to learn about different strategies to meet the standards and optimising resources without compromising the quality of care.
One of our Young Ambassadors, Sabine Valenta, has also presented her SMILe project during the afternoon Nursing Oral Abstract Session, exploring patient's experience and acceptance of using eHealth technology for post alloSCT follow-up. While face-to-face follow-up will remain important for patients, having eHealth will transform our post-HSCT supportive care for patients living far away from treating hospitals, as well as empowering patient's autonomy and self-management.
Day#1
Sunday March 24, 2019
Guten Tag! A great first day at the #EBMT19 Annual Meeting with lots of interesting talks and sessions here at Messe Frankfurt!
The day started off with "Is Haplo the New Black?" symposium where we heard about how haploidentical transplantation and alternative GVHD prophylactic approaches had brought new perspectives to the traditional alloSCT.
We then got to hear from the experts sharing their experiences with CRS and ICANS in DLBCL patients undergoing CAR-T cell therapy. Key messages: standardise hospital practices, educate patient and staff, and utilise the latest ASBMT consensus grading systems!
Moving to the nursing education session, we learned about the late effects of developing secondary malignancies post stem cell transplantation. Risk factors are mostly associated with immunosuppressants given as part of patient's transplantation - educating patient to undergo regular screenings can help to detect early and be treated promptly.
I'm also new to treosulfan-based conditioning - glad to see an alternative that is less neurotoxic while balancing the intensity and GVL effect. And at the nursing symposium, there was also a great series of talks and case studies from experienced nurses on VOD and nurses' role within the multidisciplinary team in timely assessment and escalating concerns to provide prompt treatment for VOD patients.
In the final Industry Symposium sessions of the day, different approaches and new recommendations were discussed in attempt to treat invasive mould diseases and reduce mortality in haematology patients. And soon I will be wrapping up my day in the Opening Ceremony and Welcome Reception with other delegates and enjoy some food and drinks.
Keep track with your programme on your EBMT 2019 App, and don't forget to get a copy of the EBMT Handbook from the EBMT Hub! You can also keep up-to-date with us on Twitter #EBMT19 :)
How am I getting ready for the EBMT Annual Meeting?
March 11, 2019
#EBMT19 is only two weeks away! In preparation for the Annual Meeting, I have been planning my schedule around the 4-day Programme – and there are just too many interesting sessions to fit in! My main focuses will be the nursing management of veno-occlusive disease and graft-versus-host disease, shared decision making of treatment, as well as learning about treosulfan-based conditioning, CAR-T cell therapy and toxicities, and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for autoimmune diseases. The poster session and tours will be a great time for some Q&A time with the presenters and networking with other likeminded professionals.
I am also getting Twitter-ready by connecting with The EBMT, The EBMT Nurses Group, as well as other Young Ambassadors. We are in the best time for modern medical and technological advancement where we can share our ideas through different social media platforms. I believe providing fundamental education and wellbeing support will help to engage and prepare our young generation of healthcare professionals to be working in this ever-growing field of medicine.
Last but not least – this will be my first visit to Europe, and I am doing my research and learning my way around this culturally rich city of Frankfurt with beautiful German arts and architecture. I look forward to meeting everyone at the Annual Meeting – please keep up with the latest updates from the #EBMT19 Young Ambassadors through Twitter!