- In-person conferences offer unparalleled opportunities for learning, scientific exchange, and networking with colleagues.
- Making connections actively engages us with new colleagues and old friends, generating a wealth of new ideas and fostering potential collaborations and research projects.
- Prioritize conference activities, including sessions beyond your specialty to broaden your cardiothoracic surgery knowledge.
- Be sure to carve out time for The Hub, a dedicated space for trainees and early-career surgeons to engage in programs, sessions, networking, and mentoring.
The STS Annual Meeting is only a few short weeks away. Currently, we are preparing to gather for the 61st Annual Meeting of our Society, with the first being held in January of 1965 in St. Louis. Interestingly, the first conference to facilitate virtual attendance was the 34th Annual Meeting held in January 1998 in New Orleans. The ability to visualize the digitized slides of the presentations with synchronized audio files was cutting edge at the time. The quality would seem rudimentary to us now, but this ability raised an interesting point regarding the need to actually attend annual meetings if you could review the scientific content from home.
More than 25 years after the Annual Meeting’s content was initially made available online, it is easier than ever to justify not attending in person. In addition to cost, we all have time commitments in terms of clinical practice, research, family and other responsibilities that must be sacrificed to travel to meetings. So, then, why go?
No Substitute for In-Person Interactions
In a time when hospitals are facing financial issues and looking for ways to cut budgets (one is by lowering CME allowances), it’s crucial to remember the benefits of these important in-person gatherings. Despite the convenience of online meetings for day-to-day activities, I believe there is no substitute for the advantages of face-to-face interactions with your colleagues for learning, scientific interactions and networking that attending in-person conferences provides.
In an editorial published in The Annals of Thoracic Surgery shortly after the 1998 meeting, Dr. George Kaiser emphatically stated, “…the internet may be remarkable, but there is no substitute for the immediacy of watching a speaker and interacting with colleagues during a live presentation. Besides, no web browser add-ons can download the good fellowship and Cajun food available in New Orleans.” I whole-heartedly agree!
The tremendous importance of attending the Annual Meeting remains. Countless spontaneous interactions take place that simply do not occur during a virtual meeting. From sessions and coffee breaks to cocktail hours and dinners, excitement permeates the halls of the convention center and the surrounding area that are simply lost if you aren’t there. These connections provide networking opportunities for not only engaging new colleagues and old friends, but also for generating new ideas and potential collaborations and research projects. This leads to returning home refreshed, rejuvenated and motivated to get back to your work!
Helpful Tips
Now that you’re excited to head to the Annual Meeting, here are some tips for making the most out of your experience:
- Have a plan: With the extensive list of activities from dawn to dusk (and even later), attending every aspect of the meeting is impossible. Give yourself some time before you go to review the schedule and pick the sessions that you think will be most beneficial. This will allow you to strategize about which activities to take advantage of. While most people tend to gravitate toward sessions that are in their specialty, don’t forget to look at other tracks and sessions that span the breadth of cardiothoracic surgery.
- Actually attend the meeting: There may be a pull to only go to your session or a handful of sessions that directly interest you. Resist this temptation! Spend time at the convention center, attend various sessions, visit the exhibit hall, and go to The Hub. For those who do not know, The Hub was started at the 2024 Annual Meeting and serves as a space for programs, sessions, networking, and mentoring specifically for trainees and early career surgeons. This year’s Hub will be even better with a variety of new programs and opportunities. As Woody Allen said, “80% of success is showing up.”
- Make a point to engage with new people: Networking is one of the most beneficial activities of attending an in-person meeting. This comes naturally to some and is much harder for others. If you are not a naturally extroverted person, make an effort to introduce yourself to your colleagues. You never know if you will be meeting your future partner or boss.
Hopefully you are looking forward to the 61st Annual Meeting as much as I am. If you see me there, please introduce yourself and let’s make a connection. Safe travels!