CHEST 2023: ‘We learn better when we learn together’

Key takeaways:

• With the CHEST 2023 meeting taking place in Hawaii, more international speakers will be attending and presenting data.
• Attendees can expect several network opportunities and chances to celebrate community.

The CHEST Annual Meeting will be held Oct. 8 to 11 in Honolulu with a broad focus on celebrating community and connecting with others through storytelling.

Healio spoke with Aneesa Das, MD, FCCP, scientific program committee chair for CHEST 2023, ahead of the meeting to highlight this year’s major themes, sessions of importance and what attendees can expect from the conference.

Celebrating community

The theme of this year's meeting is celebrating community and storytelling.

Even though some years have passed, the COVID-19 pandemic left a lasting impression on many people, especially clinicians who helped patients suffering from the virus daily. When they weren’t working, they had to quarantine and stay in isolation, demonstrating why embracing community is so important in today’s world, Das told Healio.

“We need community more than ever after working through the outbreak of the pandemic, so we’re celebrating the fact that by being together we can restore our own wellness, career satisfaction and avoid burnout,” Das said.

As with past meetings, there will also be several networking opportunities to bring people together and form connections. Two notable events include CHEST After Hours and the ‘Ohana Mixer.

“This year, we are really focused on emphasizing the idea that we learn better when we learn together and the importance of being a part of the communities rather than just showing up at the meeting,” Das told Healio.

“Reflecting the Hawaiian culture, this meeting will also include a lot of story sharing,” she added.

In addition to networking, another opportunity to celebrate community takes place the day before the meeting with the launch of CHEST Community Connections. On Saturday, Oct. 7, CHEST will be partnering with the Waianae Coast Community Center at the Waianae Farmers’ Market and setting up a booth to raise awareness for pediatric asthma.

“We are going to be distributing free inhaler masks and spacers because pediatric asthma is prevalent in the area, and the cost of these items that make a tremendous difference in the efficacy of the inhaler is often just out of reach for some families,” Das told Healio.

The hope with this initiative is to recognize local organizations wherever that year’s meeting is taking place and give them the opportunity to share their story with CHEST attendees.

“Through CHEST Community Connections, we’re trying to connect with the cities that we go to in a positive way,” Das said. “This year, we’re partnering with three local organizations in Hawaii. All these groups are going to have presentations at Experience CHEST so that we can amplify what they’re doing.”

In addition to community, this year’s committee has placed an emphasis on celebrating storytelling, which will be apparent at the start of the meeting in a keynote address from Cedric “Jamie” Rutland, MD, FCCP, pulmonary, critical care and internal medicine physician and owner of Rutland Medical Group. Das told Healio Rutland has a unique story to share about his journey to becoming a physician and gaining more than 25,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, Medicine Deconstructed, and over 87,000 followers on Instagram.

Session overview

Similar to previous years, CHEST scientific sessions will highlight the newest innovations and the latest science; however, this year’s committee worked to feature more than just pulmonologists in these sessions, Das said.

“Attendees can expect to go to a session and not just hear two pulmonologist talk, but a pulmonologist, cardiologist, pathologist, radiologist, respiratory therapist or an advanced practice provider,” Das told Healio. “We really worked hard to include as many sessions as possible that had multiple disciplines represented in them so that we’re learning beyond our own peers and our colleagues.”

Notably, the location of this year’s meeting has allowed more international speakers to attend compared with past years, making for an exciting meeting, Das told Healio.

This higher percentage of international speakers has resulted in more discussions on mycobacterial infections and chronic bronchiectasis as those diseases/conditions are more prevalent internationally.

Critical care and sleep medicine are also major topics.

“There's going to be a lot of critical care at the meeting,” Das said. “This year, we have a special focus on cardiac critical care.”

When asked about other notable sessions, Das highlighted “Women as Leaders in Chest Medicine: Journeys and Stories Along the Way” on Monday, Oct. 9, from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. HST. Panelists include the three current presidents of international societies in chest medicine: M. Patricia Rivera, MD, FCCP, president of the American Thoracic Society; Doreen Addrizzo-Harris, MD, FCCP, president of CHEST; and Monika Gappa, president of the European Respiratory Society.

“It’s the first time that we’ve ever had that many women in leadership at one time, so we’re honoring them and having them share their stories,” Das said. “We talk all the time about the importance of women in these different fields, but there’s often a leaky pipeline, meaning they don’t rise to higher levels of leadership. Further, women tend to have less sponsors and less role models as they rise up, so this session is designed to tackle that issue.”

Das also recommends that attendees consider securing a spot in one of several problem-based learning sessions.

Problem-based learning sessions are designed to only include 25 people plus two leaders in the field. Topics of these sessions include difficult interstitial lung disease, nonresolving pneumonia and biologics in asthma.

“During these sessions, you will work with a team through critical problems that oftentimes do not have a clear answer,” Das told Healio.

Meeting tips

For those attending CHEST for the first time, Das offered several tips to get the most out of the meeting, and the first one is to attend the opening session.

“I never knew until I was in leadership that you should actually go to the opening session,” Das said. “The opening session sets the theme and the tone for the rest of the meeting and this year’s session celebrates Hawaiian culture — you don’t want to miss it.”

If you are a trainee or a junior faculty member, the trainee lounge is full of opportunities for networking and learning.

“This lounge is not only a great place to connect with peers but also has its own line of sessions that trainees can go to that are geared toward them,” Das said.

Lastly, those interested in getting involved in CHEST should plan on attending one of the seven different Network Open Forum sessions that each highlight one of the networks within CHEST.

CHEST Network focuses include airways disorders, chest infections and disaster response, critical care, diffuse lung disease and lung transplant, pulmonary vascular and cardiovascular, sleep medicine, and thoracic oncology and chest procedures.

These forums allow new attendees to meet those in leadership, Das told Healio.

“These are probably the most important meetings to go to,” she said. “Folks should look at those seven, decide which one they want to go to and make a point to try and introduce themselves to some of the leadership while they’re there. That’s a great way to get to know people and create your academic circle.”

The Healio team will be onsite in Hawaii during CHEST 2023. Follow our coverage of the meeting here and on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HealioPulm.

For more information:

Aneesa Das, MD, FCCP, can be reached at aneesa.das@osumc.edu.

References:

• CHEST 2023 schedule. https://events.rdmobile.com/Sessions/Index/16477. Accessed Sept. 28, 2023.
• CHEST 2023 special events. https://www.chestnet.org/Learning-and-Events/Events/CHEST-Annual-Meeting/Special-Events. Accessed Sept. 27, 2023.
• CHEST networks. https://www.chestnet.org/membership-and-community/communities/networks. Accessed Sept. 28, 2023.
• Keynote speaker brings new perspective on diversifying medicine. https://chestdailynews.chestnet.org/keynote-speaker-brings-new-perspective-on-diversifying-medicine/. Published Aug. 8, 2023. Accessed Sept. 28, 2023.