Attending Medical Conferences or Seminars, Is it Worth it?

Last week, I attended the mid-year convention of the Philippine Orthopedic Association.  For those who do not know, orthopedic surgeons in the country have two main conventions every year. The annual convention done in Manila and the midyear convention, held out-of-town. For this year, the mid-year convention was held in the beautiful island of Cebu.

Mactan Island, Cebu

 

 This has been my first mid-year convention in years.  I usually attend only the annual event and my own subspecialty society’s convention (The Philippine Hip and Knee Society) in Manila.

So, what are the advantages of attending conferences?

1.       This convention was a gathering of the best and brightest orthopedic surgeons in the country. So obviously, a wealth of orthopedic knowledge was presented. A lot of "learning" at one clip, with most material compressed into two days’ worth of time.  This is part of our continuing medical education.

Radisson Blu Hotel, site of orthopedic convention

      

          The only thing I felt needed some improvement was that the speakers often spoke over the time limit and the Q and A was cut short because of this.  I would have wanted to ask a few questions but never got the chance. When I was a speaker at last year’s Hip and Knee convention, I practiced several times to adhere to the time limit.

2.       Attending conferences can build your network and see what colleagues are up to. 

One of the benefits of attending conferences is networking value. Where else can you find so many orthopedic contacts facing the same issues as yours? It also fosters a sense of camaraderie, reconnecting with old friends we see only in Facebook now.  (In fact, when I saw an old friend there, I had to check Facebook in my mobile first to confirm his name. hehe).

3.       Since it was held out of town, it is also a great opportunity to bring along your family for some R and R. 

 A nice vacation, a good hotel. Most of our conventions take place in quality hotels, as this is part of the incentive for attracting the Fellows.   Staying in hotel rooms has been a luxury for me. This was actually my main reason for attending this year’s out of town convention. Hehe. 

Besides, I haven’t been to Cebu in a long time.  I think it is good to get out and see the city, taste the food, (Cebu lechon, the best!), since I’d never know when I will be back here or if it will be devastated by a major typhoon, flood, earthquake, killer bees, or civil war.   

Lechon Cebu!

Also, I felt I needed some time with my wife alone  (We left our kids with their grandparents in Manila).  

Of course, we bought something nice for them as pasalubong: small guitars from one of the guitar-making factories in Cebu. 

4.       The freebies!

The orthopedic vendors who set up booth will often give out freebies.  Then, there were also prizes during the convention where Ipads, wines, even furniture items were raffled off.  This is aside from the fact that you get free meals by just listening to the talks.

What are the disadvantages of attending conventions or seminars?

1.       The cost- may be expensive

All attendees had to pay the registration and travel costs. Of course, some may have been sponsored, especially the speakers. In fact, if ones travel costs are sponsored, then he should attend! But for most, travel costs, food costs, hotel costs, and other miscellaneous costs are absorbed by the attendees.  This is probably the main reason why some members don’t attend.

2.       The chance that the speakers may be sharing incorrect knowledge, or not at all knowledgeable themselves. 

I believe that our speakers, both local and foreign, were well prepared in their lectures. However, it pays to make your own assessments of presented topics, not just blindly "follow the pack”. Tips, tricks, and strategies need to be weighed as to their "worth" and "accuracy" before using them. Listen and decide for yourself. 

      3. The time spent away from your actual practice or business.

          Time is always a concern when scheduling activities and some individuals simply can't spare the time away from their lives for activities such as this.  I know of a colleague who was not able to attend because he had a “toxic” patient to attend to.

       4. The chance that the topics may not actively help our practice or our concerns.

             If this is the case, then the seminar will be a waste of time, where nothing you learn is of any use to you.  This is one reason given by a fellow member who said he had no plans of attending.

Overall, seminars or conventions, if chosen carefully, can be a good experience as well as good investment.   And this holds true not only to medical conferences but to all other types of seminars, whether business seminars, financial seminars, etc.  They are not miracle cures to our problems or other problems, however, and this must be kept in mind when deciding to attend a seminar or convention. Many benefits from conference attendance are hard to quantify. But these are, after all, optional events, and success or failure in our practice, business or life will probably not hinge on attendance on these events.

       After all, education exists in many forms, not just at conventions or seminars!

      How about you?  Do you like going to conferences or seminars?

Makati Med's Symposium on the Treatment of Osteoarthritis

Last Saturday, I had another speaking engagement, this time at the Makati Medical Center- Department of Orthopedics’ Annual Orthopedic Symposium. The theme of the morning session was about the current trends in treatment of osteoarthritis, but not including joint replacement.  The focus was on the alternative management to joint replacement of patients with such conditions.  The theme was very relevant in my practice that’s why I readily agreed to be a speaker. 

As in the last Philippine Hip and Knee Society Convention, I was truly honored and privileged to have spoken before my esteemed colleagues because the audience was mostly orthopedic consultants, residents and medical students. I’d like to extend my gratitude to the Department for inviting me to be one of the speakers and share my knowledge. At the same time, it was also an opportunity for me to continuously update my knowledge by learning from other speakers’ experience. 

         Preparing lectures for orthopedic conferences is both stressful and energizing for me.  Stressful because there is so much pressure involved in researching and preparing a scholarly lecture before former mentors and colleagues in the profession.  I had to write and re-write my manuscript and think of all the possible post-lecture questions they will throw at me.  At the same time energizing, because it is an opportunity to shine and show your former mentors what you have learned during fellowship training. 

       The opening remarks were from the Makati Med Department of Orthopedics Chairman Dr. Liberato Leagogo who acknowledged the challenges of managing osteoarthritis, especially in the young and active patients. All the speakers, in my opinion, had well-prepared lectures that generated active participation among the audience. We even had the opportunity to learn from a foreign speaker from Singapore who was specializing in cartilage regeneration techniques.

      My lecture on the use of osteotomy (a surgical procedure that re-aligns a malaligned knee to prevent the progression of osteoarthritis, went well,  I thought. Thanks to my friend & colleague Dr. Marc Castro who provided me with some pictures I used in my presentation. The following are some of the pictures taken during the symposium.

Dr. Tony Rivera dishing out his usual fiery questions

         The afternoon session was devoted to presentation of researches in orthopedics which was personally sponsored by my mentor, Dr. Ramon Gustilo of Minnesota, USA. I wasn’t able to finish the afternoon sessions, though, due to clinic schedules. Dr. Gustilo himself gave a talk on the success and failures of total hip replacement patients.  Having done at least 10,000 hip and knee surgeries and has trained countless orthopedic surgeons, including me, throughout the world, his opinion and experience definitely are well-valued.

With my mentor, Dr. Ramon Gustilo

         There is so much more I want to talk about, but I just don't have the time right now. Hopefully, during the course of the next few days, I'll be able to share that with you.

           In the meantime, I just like to express this take home message:

     Doctors should invest in educating themselves, so that we remain up-to- date with the latest medical advances. This will help us provide state of the art medical care for our patients.  Attending conferences and actively participating is one way to do it.

        Orthopedic surgery is a very dynamic field.  Researches and studies are continuously being undertaken so what we might have learned a few years ago may not be the best option for our patients now.  However, I do acknowledge the fact that change does not mean improvement.  Long-term studies are usually needed to prove the effectiveness of  new procedures, especially if they are more expensive.