Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
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Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
Discuss training, careers, and education
A recent student BMJ article about careers highlighted tips for any students who may attend professional conferences and want to make the most of it. The discussion I want to pose is:
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Cat:BMJForum:Careers
Cat:BMJForum:CareersDiscussion:80145386-5a3e-42c6-bba0-8252d8c88e36
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Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
posted at 5/8/2012 2:25 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 324
First: 23/12/2011 Last: 3/5/2013 |
A recent student BMJ article about careers highlighted tips for any students who may attend professional conferences and want to make the most of it. The discussion I want to pose is: - Whether any seasoned professionals would be able to give any further tips when attending conferences? - Could any seasoned professionals highlight any experiences from attending conferences and how it has benefited them? I personally have only attended a conference organised very ably by medical school about academic medicine. Networking is undoubtedly something that is important but do remember to enjoy the experience whilst there. It would be great to hear some more tips if anyone has any. Thanks The article can be found here: http://student.bmj.com/student/view-article.html?id=sbmj.e3962 |
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Re: Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
posted at 21/8/2012 12:06 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1177
First: 19/4/2010 Last: 16/5/2013 |
I've been to a fair number of conferences in my time. I've tried a variety of strategies at different conferences; not sure which has been most successful, but here's what I now do: I try not to look at the program before I get to the conference - this might sound daft, but I find overthinking it means I get too easily distracted. I tend to go to at least one "Year in review" type session, to get a good update. I will go to *one* session on my main interest - often it just reassures me I'm doing the right thing, rather than learning new things. Then for the rest of the time I try to pick the most "off the wall" think I can find - something I wouldn't usually be interested in, something "random", or something I've never heard of. And I certainly don't worry about spending some time just wandering around. Even if you're not actively networking, wandering about, seeing posters, meeting folk, dropping in and out of sessions, all is useful. And don't worry about leaving sesssions half way through - this is perfectly acceptable behaviour! Most of all, don'ts stress, and have a good time.
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Re: Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
posted at 21/8/2012 12:54 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2044
First: 12/3/2010 Last: 21/5/2013 |
Make a point of visiting the exhibition stands of the companies that have supported the meeting. It is they who are paying your way, for the hall and the visiting speakers, and they deserve at least the courtesy of a visit. If you can afford to go abroad, learn some conventional phrases in the native language - salutations, greetings, thanks. Toasts? They greatly smooth the way with the local residents, in or out of the meeting. "Where is room/hall 1/2/3...?" may be useful! I stunned an American I met at conference in Poland by asking the last - he was amazed that I spoke Polish! The lady I asked pointed the way, thank goodness, so also learn "I only speak a little ........."! John |
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Re: Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
posted at 21/8/2012 4:07 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 318
First: 27/10/2011 Last: 20/5/2013 |
Hi Nathan, I think that at your stage, one of the difficult choices can be to judge what is worthwhile if you haven't yet chosen a specialty, so being slightly focused about what you might do is important. If you have some idea, then I would be as broad as you possibly can within that specialty, usually fulfilled by going to a big international meeting. As a Radiologist, this would be ECR in Vienna every Spring and RSNA in Chicago every winter. The latter holds the accolade for largest annual professional meeting of any type in the world! These conferences have everything under the sun for the specialty and are a great way to find out more about what life is like down the line - you will be going to these for CPD for many years to come. They will also be far more useful than niche meetings. As for other little tips:
There we go. Have fun! |
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Re: Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
posted at 22/8/2012 11:14 AM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 1177
First: 19/4/2010 Last: 16/5/2013 |
All great advice. The last meeting I went to was in Amsterdam - lots to do and see, and plenty of entertainment laid on for us all. After the 4th night, I was 'drinks and meal'-ed out, so I got a sandwich at a local shop, then went to the cinema to watch a dutch film, in dutch, with english, and german subtitles.... |
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Re: Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
posted at 22/8/2012 3:13 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 3045
First: 27/3/2012 Last: 20/5/2013 |
We always do learn a lots of newer advances in medicine by attending medical conferences. Especially the experiences of seasoned doctors does help a lot to add to our knowledge! |
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Re: Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
posted at 22/8/2012 9:25 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 318
First: 27/10/2011 Last: 20/5/2013 |
Absolutely, Dundee. But I can't help but wonder if you may have had more stamina in your student years! All great advice. The last meeting I went to was in Amsterdam - lots to do and see, and plenty of entertainment laid on for us all. After the 4th night, I was 'drinks and meal'-ed out, so I got a sandwich at a local shop, then went to the cinema to watch a dutch film, in dutch, with english, and german subtitles.... Posted by DundeeChest |
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Re: Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
posted at 22/8/2012 10:10 PM BST
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2947
First: 10/3/2009 Last: 29/4/2013 |
I find big conferences these days generally impersonal places.As a junior doctor I found them even more so. As a medical student I never attended one as I could not afford to. Indeed I avoid them. I note a lot a my peers are always going overseas to meetings. I am going to one in the USA later this year but it is a smaller boutique meeting and I hopefully will have my paper accepted (no loss if not). I learn more from chatting with people or over a meal. I like to go to meet a person or persons - not for the plenary session of ten thousand, dimmed lights and people photographing every "slide" (slides went out years ago but we call them slides) as if this is to be captured or die. The site of flash lights on cameras going off in the dark, sitting at the back with one hundred yards to the front row on ten time zones different and your head lolling into REM and that talk by that same doyen of the Society once again with that same joke again. I sense arrogance, anxiety, self-satisfaction, competition, bristling aggression, impersonal, alienation and not much camaraderie beneath all the hand shakes and pulling of forelocks. Yes, the annual college scientific meeting is such fun and then the sheer torture of the dinner and sitting next to someone with the interpersonal skills of an aardvark all night and chewing on a piece of meat that died long before it was killed... Yes, I would go to the conference as a medical student and talk to the drug reps and be dazzled by the hype on WonderMycin, which is so much better than InferiaMycin at Booth 321 across the room in the distance. Do you have a compass and GPS, doctor ? Did you have a go at the new ConfocalWonderScope which only costs $390,000 this conference as it is on special and Everyone has one now particularly your chief rival at St Elsewhere's across the river back home. Yes, go. It will change your life forever as you crawl back into your impersonal bleak hotel room and its bar fridge full of expensive things you never touch as you can buy them at the supermarket down the road for one third the price and watch TV programmes you never see back home and CNN news that goes forever. Yes, Go forth and attend the plenary session as it will be your epiphany if your eyes are really open. Go forth with satchel and name tag around your neck like a real delegate. It is such fun. P.S. I have always found smaller meetings, and courses better value for money. I learn more and make more acquaintances. Going to a course or conference outside one's area of interest can be valuable as you see different medical paradigms. Going to one in a language you are learning is also interesting as it subserves two purposes; medical and cultural or left brain and right brain. |
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Re: Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
posted at 23/1/2013 1:13 AM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 2
First: 9/10/2012 Last: 23/1/2013 |
maybe I'm a bit late for this post (or early depending on the point of view) but as a final year student who has been to a few conferences so far I can only say good things about the experience. I started off presenting a poster at the BMJ international forum in my 4th year, I went alone, and it was terrifying. But I learnt so much, and it inspired me to get involved in a lot of things I would never have thought about if Id simply stuck to the usual curriculum of medical school. I would perhaps advise you start off with a smaller conference though! The benefit of going as a student is often there are reduced rates available, bursarys (as is the case for the international forum) or even grants from your uni or hospital if you are very lucky. People are often very impressed that you are presenting/attending as a student and its great to network, Im not sure it will directly impact your career this early on but it certainly cant harm to get used to the hob nob-ing that seems to be so commonplace, and to develop your repertoir of excuses for those awkward moments you get stuck sat next to the bore of the department. Personally, I love talking to the reps, not only is it interesting to learn about all the gear they peddle but they often have interesting stories to tell, not to mention free pens and sweets! Overall, I cant think of a better time to go to a conference than when you are a student!
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Re: Attending Professional Conferences as a med student...
posted at 8/2/2013 6:47 PM GMT
on bmj.com
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Posts: 154
First: 19/1/2012 Last: 18/5/2013 |
Go...go...go to a conference! I never realised as a student how many bursaries and prizes there were to be had, and how un-intinimdating conferences could be. (Actually I'm not even sure if I'm being honest that I knew conferences were a thing...although that seems very stupid of my younger self now) As a personal plug - if you are interested in psychiatry, the RCPsych International Congress (which this year is 2-5 July 2013, in Edinburgh) gives away 100 free places for medical students and Foundation Doctors. If you register as a student associate of the RCPsych you'll get an email alert when applications open. Info at: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/discoverpsychiatry/studentassociates.aspx If you want a smaller conference first, every subspecialty of psychiatry also has its own annual conference, info at: http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/traininpsychiatry/eventsandcourses.aspx POSTERS: My major tip would be to submit a poster when you go to any conference. Any piece of research, audit, quality improvement project, medical education/teaching project you have been involved in is worth thinking about submitting. Ask the tutor you did it with/a local consultant/professor to do it with you as a co-author. If they are known in the specialty, it will almost certainly be accepted, and they can also help you on content/presentation style/how to do it if you haven't done a poster before. If the topic is clinical at all, then it is worth thinking about which conference might be more likely to accept - if its about heart, go for the cardiology conference... A lot less people than you would think enter their posters and generally the organisers will try and be inclusive to encourage medical student interest in the specialty. A poster at a national/international conference looks great on your CV, a prize for 1st/2nd place poster at the conference looks even better!
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