Intentional community building key to leading a successful medical conference
Key takeaways:
- Successful medical conferences begin with attention to what goes on behind the scenes.
- Organizers and attendees can both gain invaluable experiences when leading a conference.
Successful medical conferences are built on a foundation that focuses on what goes on behind the scenes and provide invaluable experiences for conference organizers themselves, according to Christina Brown, MD, and Shikha Jain, MD, FACP.
In a paper published in Journal of Hospital Medicine, Brown, resident physician in the departments of emergency medicine and internal medicine at ChristianaCare Health Systems, and Jain, associate professor of medicine with tenure in the division of hematology/oncology at University of Illinois Cancer Center in Chicago and consulting editor for Healio Women in Oncology, provided a blueprint for leading a successful conference that includes meaningful collaboration, timely planning and intentional delegation.
“Leading a conference may feel like a daunting task, but executing a plan by the right team and with meaningful content, while also focusing on professional development and intentional networking, can generate true success,” Brown told Healio. “The community and support that is built is what makes a conference successful.”
Build community, confidence
Any task regarding a conference is not attainable individually, according to Brown.
“Building a team is how you can become successful. Being intentional about who is on your team will help drive home the goal of your conference,” she said. “Although other tasks are also important, such as promoting on social media and identifying the right speakers, prioritizing who is on your team, ensuring diversity, and knowing that everyone has a shared goal but can bring unique ideas to the table, is really what helps set up a conference for success.”
Another key piece of advice is that “you know more than you think you do,” Brown added.
“I have to remind myself of this almost daily,” she said. “If presenting at a conference, chances are that you are well informed about a certain topic. Use that credibility to your advantage to help build your confidence when presenting.”
She recommended that even when questions get “thrown at you” that you are not expecting, fall back on knowing that you have put in the work. You know the content and can step up to the plate to teach others about the subject matter.
“If you’re nervous about speaking in front of a large audience or you’re experiencing impostor syndrome, remember that being invited and accepted as a speaker says a lot about your credentials and experience that can help build your confidence,” Brown said.
Overcoming challenges
Brown’s advice for overcoming the inevitable challenges that may arise is to plan for the anticipated difficulties but use your best judgement when dealing with the unexpected.
“Because my role within the Women in Medicine Summit has involved working with and coordinating the medical student volunteers, many challenges I have encountered are ‘day of’ challenges that require a solution right in the moment,” she said. “That can be frustrating at times as far as how to handle those situations, but in that moment it’s your judgment call and you just have to do what you think is best.
“It takes months upon months to lay a great foundation when planning a conference,” Brown continued, “but there will always be things that will pop up that you don’t anticipate. Knowing that is a possibility will help you to prepare for the unexpected. My advice is to just make the best of it.”
Start small
A final piece of advice is that building a conference is achievable and does not have to be grand, according to Brown.
“During med school, I put together small conferences within my region that were virtual. We had one afternoon with different speakers and that was something that was beneficial and worth something as well,” she said. “If an individual has an interest in creating a conference, know that it doesn’t have to start as a big, grand, multicenter convention with big sponsors. You can start small and work your way up. If you get enough people going for the same mission, the conference can eventually grow and it can grow pretty quickly.”
For more information:
Christina Brown, MD, can be reached at christina.brown@christianacare.org.
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