Medical conference must-knows

Medical conference must-knows

Is your calendar full of conference dates this month? Here are a few tips to help you get the most out of your next medical conference experience.

MANY OF US attend medical conferences with the best of intentions, but sometimes fail to make the most of these opportunities. Worse yet, we forget about the people we met and the information we learned as soon as the conference pass expires. Medical conferences can be an exciting and productive part of your professional growth if approached right. Here are some tips on how to reap the benefits of attending medical conferences.

PRE-CONFERENCE

Choose Wisely:

Before you commit your time and finances, select a conference that accommodates your needs. Consider what you want to get out of a particular event. Whether it’s for educational or networking purposes, having a clear goal of what you want to obtain from the conference before booking ensures your needs will be addressed. Analyse conference programs that correlate to your needs, gain insight into panellists and available sessions, and review previous feedback.

Be Prepared:

To get the most out of your chosen medical conference, ensure you are prepared by familiarising yourself with the topics and reviewing the schedule beforehand. Your research should prompt a few questions that you can ask during the sessions. Conferences have fixed session times and schedules, so schedule your time carefully to ensure you can attend the sessions that meet your needs. Also be sure to pack any essentials you may need for notetaking and networking.

During the Conference

Despite this being an exciting experience, don’t overextend yourself by trying to attend too many sessions as this can be counterproductive. Adhering to the above preparation techniques beforehand will allow you to attend sessions that matter to you most. Ensure that you make the most of the opportunity and participate, along with taking thoughtful notes to reflect on later.

Medical conferences are a great networking platform, you will have the opportunity to connect with others in your chosen field or potentially the wider profession. You can get ahead on this by looking up the conference’s social media details, and exploring who else is engaging. Use the conference hashtag! Becoming an active participant and networking during conferences allows you to meet significant figures from the medical community, gain professional visibility, and have meaningful interactions.

Post-Conference

Returning home from a conference, you may be eager to go straight into work. But before you jump back into the routine, give yourself some time to review the notes you made and reflect on what you’ve learnt.

Things to consider:

• What sessions were most informative and what were the key takeaways?

• What lessons can put into practice within your medical career?

• What insights would your colleagues find helpful? Write the answers to these questions alongside the notes you took from the conference so that you can access it easily if you need to refer to information from this event.

Follow up:

Don’t forget about all the new connections you’ve made. It is important to follow up with the new community of medical professionals that you met at the conference. Connecting with your contacts on LinkedIn is a great way to keep the conversation flowing. These professional relationships could be useful in the future, whether they be a source of good information in your specialty or have insight on other upcoming conferences that may be of interest to you.