Speakers @ the 2016 Conference

Dr Dale Clayton

T1D Endocrinologist
Insulin & Exercise in Type 1 Diabetes: making sense of the numbers

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Dr. Dale Clayton is an endocrinologist at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, BC as well as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine at UBC. He holds undergraduate degrees in Physiology from McGill, Bio-Psychology from UNB, and a Masters degree in Community Health & Epidemiology from the University of Toronto. He completed medical school, residency and fellowship training at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

More importantly however, 2016 marks Dale’s 25th year living with type 1 diabetes. Although it can sometimes be challenging, he’s tried to never let it slow him down. His athletic life has ranged from regular gym-goer in his 20’s, to runner in his 30’s, and now in his 40’s he is a self-proclaimed CrossFit junkie.

Dale believes strongly in the benefits of exercise in managing both type 1 and type 2 diabetes, and his clinical interest is in helping people with diabetes find strategies to incorporate exercise into their diabetes management.

Michelle Sorensen

T1D Clinical Psychologist
T1D Burnout, Anxiety, Guilt & Incorporating Mindfulness

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Michelle Sorensen has been living with Type 1 diabetes since 1998, when she was 24 years old. She was in the middle of graduate school, training to become a psychologist. She is now a member of the Ontario College of Psychologists and has a private practice in Clinical Psychology in Ottawa, Canada. Using a cognitive behavioural approach to therapy, Michelle helps patients with a wide range of issues. Michelle has developed a speciality in counselling patients with diabetes. She combines her knowledge about changing thoughts, feelings and behaviours with the understanding that comes from personally living with Type 1 diabetes herself for over 17 years to help patients change their thoughts and modify their behavior.

Michelle believes adaptation to living with this chronic disease would be more manageable if more psychological support was available to people with diabetes. She hopes to help fill this gap in diabetes care by helping diabetes health professionals become more aware of the ways in which they can support and educate their patients about issues like grief, accessing supports and changing the negative thoughts and behaviours that plague many people living with this challenging condition. She speaks about various topics related to diabetes management, including counseling approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy and motivational interviewing.

She considers her greatest accomplishment to be her healthy family. She and her husband Ben are parents to four children: two girls and a set of twins (one boy and a girl). They consider diabetes their fifth child, requiring lots of attention and care if they want it to behave well!

Michelle’s Website: www.sorensenpsychology.com

Stephen Lang

T1D Athlete & Adventurer
Living a Life of Health & Purpose: Overcoming Obstacles

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Stephen Lang is a professional athlete and adventurer based in Squamish and North Vancouver, Canada. Whether perched on a 55 degree ski slope, or hiking up a ridgeline with a 1000-foot drop, Stephen knows what it’s like to face and overcome challenges every day. He was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 11 and, whereas many sports-enthused kids would find T1D an obstacle, Stephen didn’t let it slow him down. He has taken on the challenge of pushing his body to the limits while having remarkable management and control of his diabetes, and has achieved many of his dreams by becoming an outdoor photographer, skier, guide, model, and mentor..

Stephen believes that diabetes is not a limitation to anyone’s goals as long as they understand the need for management and are willing to work at it. Harnessing the wealth of his own personal experiences, he has a huge presence in the diabetes community all over North America, speaking to hundreds of groups and serving as a role model, mentor, and Animas Ambassador, promoting a message of an integrated lifestyle of health and purpose.

Stephen’s Website: www.stephenlang.ca

Teri Currie

T1D Diabetes Educator, RN
Advanced Pumping Techniques / Carb Counting Tips  (Breakout Session)

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Teri Currie is a registered nurse and has been a certified diabetes educator since 1994.  Teri’s direction of nursing practice changed when she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in her last term of nursing school in 1989. She went on to become a certified diabetes educator working in pediatric diabetes, diabetes in pregnancy as well as adults with Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes.  She also had been an active volunteer working with JDRF, CDA as well as CWD supporting and educating families with diabetes.

Teri’s passion for insulin pump therapy began 24 hours after she started on her first insulin pump in 1998 after the birth of her twins and rewarded her with her first uninterrupted hypoglycemia free night in many years. She has been a certified pump trainer since 1998 and continues to work in insulin pump therapy as a clinical manager.

Teri has been a nurse at Camp Kakhamela, the CDA camp for children with diabetes in BC for the past 14 years and was honoured to receive the CDA Camp Nurse of the Year in 2007. She is always excited to be a part of education in the North and looks forward to sharing and learning from the attendees who are living and loving those with type 1 diabetes.

Dr. Dan Metzger

Pediatric Endocrinologist
What’s new in Type 1 Diabetes: New Frontiers in Research & Gadgets

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Dr. Dan Metzger is a Pediatric Endocrinologist at the BC Children’s Hospital, and a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at UBC.

Dr. Dan has been heavily involved in Camp Kakhamela—the Canadian Diabetes Association’s camp for children with diabetes—in BC, for the past 22 years, including being the Medical Director from 1998 to 2014.

Clinically, Dr. Dan’s focus has been on the care of infants, children and youth with type 1 diabetes, and he has been involved in both clinical and basic-science research looking at the prevention and treatment of type 1 diabetes. More recently, he has helped develop a very busy clinic caring for transgender youth.

Dr. Metzger is excited to spend time in the North meeting kids and adults with type 1 and sharing his knowldge and experience with them.

Sharleen Herrmann

Diabetes Educator, RN
Managing challenges & solutions raising T1D children (Breakout Session)

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Sharleen Herrmann is a Diabetes Nurse Educator at BC Children’s Hospital in Vancouver. She has a passion for youth and has been involved in organizing several clinic transition events. She has been Head Nurse at Diabetes Camp Kakhamela on BC’s Sunshine Coast for the past 17 years and was the DES Camp Award recipient in 2010. Sharleen has also received the DES Practical Diabetes Award for development of online education modules for intensive insulin management.

In 2013, she worked with Child Health BC on developing a provincial report on recommendations for diabetes management in the school setting. This report was adopted by the provincial government later that year. Since then Sharleen has worked closely with Nursing Support Services on provincial guidelines and training materials. She is a member of the Pediatric and Camp special interest groups. Currently she is on the Canadian Pediatric Society and CDA Working Group to establish national school guidelines and care plans. In her off time, she enjoys the outdoors.

Schedule

VIEW Schedule (click to expand / click again to collapse)

DRAFT SCHEDULE (subject to change)

FRIDAY

6:30-8:30 pm
Pub Night Social • ALPENHORN Bistro and Bar on Main Street – family friendly, look for the blue balloons.

SATURDAY

all Saturday Events take place at Smithers Secondary School, in or near the Della Herman Theatre

8-8:30 am
Registration & Trade Fair

8:30–9:50 am
WELCOME Opening Remarks;
STEPHEN LANG, The Journey: The life of an extreme athlete  living with Type One (Presentation + Q&A)

9:50-10:15 am
BREAK coffee, tradeshow

10:15-11:15 am
DR. DALE CLAYTON, T1D & Exercise (Presentation + Q&A)

11:15-12:15 pm
MICHELLE SORENSON, T1D Mental Health, Burnout, Grief (Presentation + Q&A)

12:15-1:15 pm
BREAK Lunch, Trade Fair

1:15-2:15 pm
DR. DAN METZGER, T1D New Frontiers (Presentation + Q&A)

2:25-3:10 pm
BREAKOUT SESSIONS (choose 1)

  1. T1D CHILDREN: Managing Challenges & Solutions (Dr. Dan Metzger & Shar)
  2. T1D YOUTH: Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll (Stephen Lang)
  3. T1D CHAT ROOM: Facilitated Group Discussion on T1D experiences and issues
  4. PUMPING: Advanced Techniques (Terri Currie, RN CDE)
  5. YOGA: Good techniques to relax & de-stress (led by Full Circle Yoga)

3:10-3:30 pm
BREAK coffee, tradeshow

3:30-4:15 pm
BREAKOUT SESSIONS (choose 1)

  1. T1D CHILDREN: Managing Challenges & Solutions (Dr. Dan Metzger & Shar)
  2. T1D YOUTH: Sex, Drugs & Rock n Roll (Stephen Lang)
  3. T1D CHAT ROOM: Facilitated Group Discussion on T1D experiences and issues
  4. CARB COUNTING TOOLS & TIPS (Terri Currie, RN CDE)
  5. T1D INTENSIVE EXERCISE MANAGEMENT (Dr. Dale Clayton)

4:20-5pm
PANEL DISCUSSION: How important is the T1D Community? (all speakers + Q&A)

 

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Sponsors

Thank you to these Major Sponsors for their generous support.

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please contact us. You will help make a difference in the lives of people living with Type 1 Diabetes in northern BC!

Why Attend?

 This was the first ever conference in northern BC focused solely on Type 1 Diabetes.

It was a chance to take advantage of a rare and unique opportunity to access Type 1-specific expertise and a community of kindred spirits.

We went home inspired and empowered to make life with T1D better than it was, for ourselves, our patients, or our loved ones.

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If you live in Northern BC and Type 1 Diabetes is something you live with, work with, are affected by, or are interested in learning about, please join us. We may host events or have news that will benefit you. EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

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Type 1s of the North Unite:

Was a Regional Symposium for & by people living with Type 1 Insulin Dependent Diabetes in northern BC. October 1, 2016, Smithers, BC

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Questions? Contact us: smithers[at]type1softhenorth.com