- At #AGS18, @UNMC’s Dr. Jane Potter honored for far-reaching impact training future #geriatrics leaders http://ow.ly/jnP930jbk0C
New York (March 27, 2018)—The American Geriatrics Society (AGS) today announced that Jane Potter, MD, AGSF, Chief in the Division of Geriatrics at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC), will be honored with the 2018 Dennis W. Jahnigen Award celebrating work to train more health professionals in the care we all need as we age.
“Over the past 35 years, Dr. Potter’s tireless work has advanced education for thousands of health professionals,” said Ellen Flaherty, PhD, APRN, AGSF, AGS Board Chair. “It would be difficult to locate a geriatrics clinician trained in the last two decades whose education has not been shaped in some way by Dr. Potter’s influence.”
A dynamic force driving geriatrics education, Dr. Potter has not only led medical education at UNMC but also has expanded the scope of her work to lead national efforts aimed at increasing the prestige and prominence of the geriatrics workforce. Dr. Potter is a co-Principal Investigator for the AGS’s Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP) Coordinating Center—a strategic resource supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation for 44 organizations in 29 states working through the only federal program focused on increasing the number of doctors, nurses, social workers, and other healthcare professionals trained to care for America’s older adult population.
Across her career, Dr. Potter has led several other impactful education programs through the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation and the Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA, which also operates the GWEP), including the Geriatric Medicine and Geriatric Dentistry Fellowship Program and the Nebraska Geriatric Education Center.
After completing medical studies at the Creighton School of Medicine, residency at George Washington University, and advanced geriatrics training at the National Institute on Aging, Dr. Potter returned to her home state of Nebraska in 1982, where she has been a local and national champion for geriatrics education ever since. Now the Neumann M. & Mildred E. Harris Professor of Geriatrics and Gerontology in Internal Medicine, Dr. Potter is a past AGS President and Board Chair and Deputy Director for the AGS Geriatrics-for-Specialists Initiative, another John A. Hartford Foundation-funded program which works to ensure all health professionals have a basic understanding of the unique skills needed to care for older people. Across her career, Dr. Potter has published numerous research articles and book chapters, and has worked for the AGS on developing its educational content, including Geriatrics at Your Fingertips and the Geriatrics Review Syllabus.
The late Dennis W. Jahnigen, MD, was a compassionate geriatrician and acclaimed educator who dedicated his life to training future leaders. Today, his namesake award recognizes an AGS member, like Dr. Potter, committed to working with students and advancing geriatrics education in schools of health and medicine. It is one of several honors conferred by the AGS at its Annual Scientific Meeting—held this year in Orlando, Fla., May 3-5. For more information, visit Meeting.AmericanGeriatrics.org.
About the American Geriatrics Society
Founded in 1942, the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) is a nationwide, not-for-profit society of geriatrics healthcare professionals that has—for more than 75 years—worked to improve the health, independence, and quality of life of older people. Its nearly 6,000 members include geriatricians, geriatric nurses, social workers, family practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, and internists. The Society provides leadership to healthcare professionals, policymakers, and the public by implementing and advocating for programs in patient care, research, professional and public education, and public policy. For more information, visit AmericanGeriatrics.org.
About the Dennis W. Jahnigen Award
The late Dennis W. Jahnigen, MD, was a compassionate geriatrician and acclaimed educator who dedicated his life to training future leaders. Today, his namesake award recognizes an AGS member committed to working with students and advancing geriatrics education in schools of health and medicine.
About the AGS Annual Scientific Meeting
The AGS Annual Scientific Meeting is the premier educational event in geriatrics, providing the latest information on clinical care, research on aging, and innovative models of care delivery. More than 2,500 nurses, pharmacists, physicians, physician assistants, social workers, long-term care and managed care providers, healthcare administrators, and others will convene May 3-5, 2018 (pre-conference program on May 2), at the Walt Disney World® Swan & Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Fla., to advance geriatrics knowledge and skills through state-of-the-art educational sessions and research presentations. For more information, visit Meeting.AmericanGeriatrics.org.