BLOG: The virtues of virtual meetings?
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Over the past few months, we’ve learned a lot about virtual meetings.
First, they’re much more personal than a conference call. Being able to see colleagues and friends and interact with great audio and video really is a social experience. But virtual meetings have their limitations, too, like the limited attention span we all have — for many around 90 minutes — to take part in an online meeting. It is also awkward when some attendees are on camera and others turn theirs off. And we’ve all cringed when we witness, or see videos of, people performing embarrassing acts when they forget their camera is on. Live by your camera, die by your camera.
So, will virtual meetings replace most live medical meetings in the future? Let’s look at the reasons many of us attend live meetings. Here are six I could come up with:
1. To shop for and buy a major piece of equipment.
2. The social aspect of networking, seeing friends and asking questions of experts in person.
3. Visiting a place you’d like to go and getting a tax deduction for it.
4. Learning something specific.
5. Earning CME.
6. Sharing your own research.
I would divide this list into the “personal” category, reasons 1 to 3, and the “cognitive” category, which are reasons 4 to 6. For the first three, it’s clear that virtual meetings just won’t do. There’s nothing like walking the convention floor and laying hands on different equipment (reason 1) as well as meeting with the seller to negotiate the best terms. Socializing (reason 2) is best done in person. Sharing a beer over Zoom is just not the same. And, of course, traveling to fun places (reason 3) — once it’s safe to do so — will always be appealing.
For the “cognitive” reasons to attend meetings, already much of our learning and sharing of knowledge has transitioned to online sources, and this will certainly continue. YouTube has become the most important surgical education tool for those seeking a specific technique (reason 4). And for those just browsing for news, we have outstanding outlets like Healio. Electronic CME abounds (reason 5). Finally, sharing research can be done through email discussion groups, online trade media and open access journals (reason 6). There are far more channels to publish research than when most of us left training.
Before the worldwide shutdown, there were simply too many live meetings taking place, making stiff competition between these meetings for attendees and sponsorship dollars. With fewer physicians traveling in the future and shrinking corporate sponsorship budgets, some smaller meetings are likely to disappear. Surviving will be those that give a maximum yield for the three “personal” reasons above: meetings where vendors bring major equipment, a sought-after destination and a really good time. I look forward to seeing you there.
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