Networking is critical to develop innovative solutions
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Becoming an orthopedic surgeon requires many years of education, residency and, for most surgeons, a fellowship. However, this is just the beginning of a surgeon’s professional life and education.
The continued accumulation of knowledge and technical skills is critical to provide high-quality patient care. Continued education provides the opportunity to stay current with the evidence that supports the daily decisions made in the office and OR that impact patients’ functional abilities and quality of life. Education in practice management, mentorship and leadership also contribute to who we are in orthopedics and in our community.
Essential knowledge
With the challenges and opportunities of our health care system, rapidly advancing technology and the complexity of the problems, it is critical to identify the most effective methods to maintain and accumulate essential knowledge.
Choices for continuing education continue to expand. Selecting the best option requires consideration of numerous factors. For many, the process is driven by maintaining board certification. While there are alternative pathways, most orthopedic surgeons become certified and maintain board certification by passing tests created by volunteers from orthopedics who establish the content, then work in collaboration with the National Board of Medical Examiners to write, edit and finalize the exam. The questions cover information in general and subspecialty orthopedic topics.
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced a reassessment of the role of in-person meetings. While the impact of online or remote learning has steadily increased for the past decade, the inability to attend in-person meetings has accelerated the growth and development of remote learning opportunities.
For many surgeons, the quality, technology and content of online learning has surpassed the threshold for being acceptable to prepare for board certification. By using high-quality video, imaging, educators and technology, such as computer-based personalization of the learning experience, online programs may be better than what is often offered at in-person meetings when it comes to core competency education. This reality has forced us to realize that attending meetings in-person is not driven by the desire to acquire core competency, but by other factors that motivate us to participate in a process that requires time away from our practices and families.
Value of networking
While the priorities have many personal components, the critical activities of our conferences that attract attendees include a dynamic and interactive educational process, identifying solutions to consistent problems of patient care and practice management, presenting ideas and experiences, and networking with peers and other professionals who impact our profession.
Networking is difficult to replace without in-person conferences. Networking is critical for many reasons, including the desire to be involved in leadership and politics, meeting people who face similar challenges and experiences to develop innovative solutions, interfacing with medical device companies and other industry representatives to understand their unique strategies to help patients, as well as collaborating on new methods to solve problems.
Networking allows us to develop relationships and friendships across varying disciplines related to work and work-life balance. With the dramatic increase in job dissatisfaction and physician burnout, it is valuable to have people in your life who can help you re-establish your purpose for being in orthopedics.
Interactive education
With these concepts in mind, we are excited to welcome attendees to Orthopedics Today Hawaii in Maui this month May 30 to June 3. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, we have assembled a fantastic faculty known for their ability to educate and provide insight and take-home principles that can be incorporated immediately into orthopedic surgeons’ practices and lives. We have prioritized case-based panel discussions, the latest evidence for innovative treatments, debates and workshops.
A practice management session will update attendees on the federal changes in legislation, as well as provide advice on how to develop a high-performance ASC-based joint replacement program, additional revenue sources, retirement and other concerns attendees suggest throughout the meeting.
The meeting app allows attendees to text questions that are answered in real time and participate in the audience response system. Breaks allow networking with peers and industry representatives to see the latest innovations to improve patient care. Our goal is to help orthopedic surgeons think through and discuss the problems they see every day in practice.
Orthopedics Today Hawaii also complements its highly valuable educational program with an environment that allows relaxation with family, stress reduction and rejuvenation of the mind and body. This environment will improve one’s resilience and determination to provide best care when returning home. Aloha!
- For more information:
- Anthony A. Romeo, MD, is the Chief Medical Editor of Orthopedics Today. He can be reached at Orthopedics Today, 6900 Grove Road, Thorofare, NJ 08086; email: orthopedics@healio.com.
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