Perspectives on Diabetes Care
This is the official blog of the Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists where we share recent research and professional opinions on diabetes care and education.
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AADE13 and Philly have amazing things in store for you
May 9, 2013, 01:00 AM
Special guest blog from Nadine Uplinger, MS, RD, LD, CDE, BC-ADM, FAADE
Host Committee Chair for the 2013 AADE Annual Meeting
Spring is finally here and it won’t be long before I will be attending the AADE Annual Meeting from August 7-10. I have a very short distance to travel this year since the meeting is in Philadelphia and close to home. This year, I have the honor of being the Host Chair and have an amazing group of volunteers to help me welcome you to the meeting and to the city of Philadelphia. We hope to make your visit a really special event and look forward to seeing many of you.
Attending the Annual Meeting is always a highlight for me since it presents the opportunity to see old friends and make new ones. If this is your first time to attend an Annual Meeting, you are in for a fun-filled experience where you will also be learning about the innovative things your fellow educators are doing. It is a great way to accumulate your necessary education credits in a short time. We can learn so much from listening to the educational sessions and the highlighted speakers, but I have always felt one of the best learning opportunities we have is just interacting with diabetes educators from other places who face similar challenges. It is also great fun to finally be able to put a face to the names you see on the list servs. Most of the diabetes educators I know always come away from the Annual Meeting feeling energized and ready to look at their patients and jobs from a fresh point of view.
Annual Meeting can be exhausting as well as exhilarating so it is important to be prepared to have lots of fun while you are learning. There are always great social functions in various types of venues. Here in Philadelphia, we have some of the most historic sites in the country so it’s a great place to bring your family and spend some time being tourists. Along with the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall and the Betsy Ross House, there is the Constitutional Center, which houses many special exhibits about early colonial times. You can take a horse-driven carriage through the streets of Philadelphia and peek in on Elfreth Alley, one of the narrowest streets that you will ever see. Be sure to visit the Reading Terminal Market and taste some of the various local delicacies. No one should leave Philadelphia without having a soft pretzel or a Philly Cheesesteak. We also have wonderful museums. One of my favorite places is the Mutter Museum at the Philadelphia College of Physicians, which houses America’s finest display of medical history and documents the history of diagnosing and treating diseases.
Philadelphia is also adjacent to many other interesting places such as Valley Forge National Park, the Amish country in Lancaster County and the Jersey Shore for those who want to relax on great sandy beaches. I can almost guarantee you will wish you had more time to spend in the Philadelphia area. With Love, Philadelphia XOXO.