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Orthopedics Today Hawaii 2009: A customized educational course
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I really enjoyed being involved with the Orthopedics Today Hawaii 2008 course, from the early organizational process to the privilege of participating in the daily sessions. The 2008 course reminded me of the enjoyable educational experiences I had attending conferences early in my training and first years of practice.
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This meeting was an updated version of those experiences and included what I liked most about those courses: hearing well-organized presentations and the innovative thoughts of recognized experts. In addition, I valued meeting and talking with the faculty face-to-face and re-examining my approaches and basis for patient care. I also appreciated having choices of the topics I could hear.
Orthopedics Today Hawaii 2009 will be held Jan. 11-14. This is the fifth annual Orthopedics Today course that we have organized and in many ways it follows the format of this publication.
As we did in 2008, we will open the meeting and spend the first day in a practice management session, presenting and discussing the problems we all face in maintaining our practices and autonomy. This was a successful day at this year’s meeting and we have built upon that experience and incorporated many of your suggestions.
Attendee suggestions
Based on listening to and surveying past attendees, we have added trauma content for 2009. Carefully selected trauma topics will be incorporated into our two highly rated, simultaneous tracks on Sports Medicine and Joint Replacement.
Your feedback has been used in designing the course. For example, we know that approximately 80% of the 2008 attendees are active surgeons performing between 21 and 60 surgeries per month with about 10% performing more than 60 cases per month. During the 2008 course, 50% of our attendees individualized their educational experience by switching back and forth between our simultaneous tracks, while the other 50% stayed focused primarily within one track.
If you would like to view our educational program and outstanding faculty for Orthopedics Today Hawaii 2009, you can find the final program agenda and registration information in this and subsequent issues of Orthopedics Today on our Web site, www.OTHawaii.com.
I hand-picked the faculty because they are speakers who I feel can give enlightened and useful views on the topics we have chosen. They are academically slanted individuals with practical experience and an established interest in the topics they are delivering. They are all very approachable and enjoy interacting with the attendees.
I always find that I learn much from the attendees when I interact and speak with them directly. To enhance this interaction, we will continue to utilize our wireless audience response system and use the data we collect in formatting future meetings as well as on the pages of this publication as the informative Orthopedics Today Hawaii By the Numbers feature.
Talking and sharing
This course is about orthopedic surgeons talking and sharing with each other. To facilitate that, we will continue the informal, late-afternoon meetings that we call the Banyan Tree Gatherings. At these relaxed sessions, attendees and course faculty can meet and discuss one-on-one the presentations from earlier in the day. These are unique opportunities to discuss individual cases, treatment options or any other topic that comes to mind, all while drinking in the natural beauty of our Hawaiian setting.
We are going to work hard together and we have chosen a tropical haven that will give you the chance to focus your educational time updating your practice and patient care without the stress and distractions of your daily routine.
The Fairmont Orchid on Hawaii’s Big Island boasts fantastic restaurants, beautiful beaches and pools, and first-class accommodations. You’ll be able to unwind on the Big Island and explore the oceanfront retreat’s exotic gardens, petroglyph hiking trails and the native habitat of the green sea turtle. This is not a “resort course” but a first-class educational opportunity held in one of our 50 states. Our half-day sessions allow you to enjoy the location and pleasant surroundings in your free time. Some individuals come early or stay after with their family members and significant others. The hotel rates are excellent for staying in such an idyllic surrounding.
I hope to see you there and have a chance to talk. As always, my objective in putting together a course is to address most of your educational desires within our profession. We will cover patient care (scientifically based), discuss current practice setting challenges and have an enjoyable and overall educational experience. Your critiques and suggestions will help us formulate the following course in 2010.
Aloha and mahalo.
Douglas W. Jackson, MD
Chief Medical Editor