Bone Health Expert to Represent Toi Ohomai at International Conference

A principal academic staff member at Toi Ohomai will be travelling to Minneapolis, United States, to attend the International Society of Clinical Densitometry’s (ISCD) 26th annual conference.

Campbell Macgregor, who is also a bone health researcher and PhD candidate, will represent Toi Ohomai at the conference from Wednesday, 29 April, to Saturday, 2 May. 

As Chair of the ISCDs Continuous Medical Education Council, Campbell will play a crucial role in ensuring the event sessions at the conference comply with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education’s (ACCME) standards, as well as meeting global standards of high-quality education.

Campbell says the ISCD is dedicated to advancing high-quality musculoskeletal health assessments. 

“With osteoporosis becoming increasingly prevalent, especially in New Zealand, due to a growing  ageing population, my involvement in the conference will prove valuable in providing Toi Ohomai students with real-world insights and research outcomes from the conference.”

In addition to reviewing speaker content, he will also be attending the ISCDs education planning meeting on Friday, 1 May, where members of the society’s Education Council will discuss the current state of ISCDs programmes and processes, as well as evaluating possible methods of improving them.

Toi Ohomai offers a range of courses through its Faculty of Health, Education and Environment, including nursing, sport and recreation and health programmes with a Māori holistic approach.

Campbell says the courses offer students pathways to further studies or provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to take on jobs in the health and wellness industry. He says students also gain experience using technology such as Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry (DEXA), which is beneficial once they are out in the workforce.

“With Toi Ohomai being one of the few higher education providers that has a DEXA that measures bone density and body composition and as a result our students get access to high quality staff and world leading equipment so they feel very comfortable when they come across it in the industry.”

One of those courses where students use the DEXA machine is the New Zealand Diploma in Health Science (Level 5), which focuses on preparing students for a career in the health, lifestyle and wellness industries specifically within our rohe. During the course, students learn to apply their scientific knowledge of the human body to assist people in the prevention of health issues such as osteoporosis. 

Students who are interested in studying this course can still enrol, with classes starting next Monday, 17 February.