CHEST 2024: ‘Something that appeals to everyone’

Key takeaways:

• CHEST 2024 plans to embrace Boston and the history of medicine.
• Attendees can expect to gain wisdom, continue their medical education and meet people at various networking events.

The CHEST Annual Meeting will be held Oct. 6 to 9 in Boston with a broad focus on acknowledging the history of medicine and providing something for every attendee.

Healio spoke with Gabriel T. Bosslet, MD, FCCP, scientific program committee chair for CHEST 2024, ahead of the meeting to highlight this year’s major themes, topics of interest and what attendees can expect from the conference.

Embracing Boston, the history of medicine

With this year’s meeting taking place in Boston, the theme is acknowledging the history of medicine.

“Boston is a very historic city, and a lot of medical breakthroughs in the United States have happened in medical centers around Boston, so we want to highlight that,” Bosslet said.

One way this theme can be seen during the meeting is through the organization’s honor of the Black Angels. According to Bosslet, the Black Angels were African American nurses in New York who played a major role in curing tuberculosis in the early 20th century. The story is told in the book, The Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis by Maria Smilios.

Attendees can hear more about the Black Angels and see Virginia Allen, LPN, DHL, a surviving nurse, accept the Honorary Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians designation for the group on Sunday, Oct. 6, during the opening session.

Additionally, Bosslet told Healio the opening session to the 2024 meeting is a can’t miss event as Vanessa Kerry, MD, MSc, critical care physician and director of the program in global public policy and social change in the department of global health and social medicine at Harvard Medical School, will give the keynote address. The main topic of the address will be climate change.

Bosslet also highlighted that this year’s meeting embraces Boston as the home to the Boston Marathon with a CHEST-hosted 5K run/walk on the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 6.

“I'm really looking forward to getting out and running with some of my CHEST colleagues,” he said.

Topics of interest

In addition to pulmonary and critical care scientific sessions, Bosslet said this year’s meeting will feature numerous sessions focused on the use of AI in medicine and advocacy.

One notable AI-centered session titled “AI in ILD Imaging: The Future is Here” will take place on Monday, Oct. 7.

“AI is a really hot topic right now,” Bosslet told Healio. “I know a lot of people are wanting to know how it is going to affect us.”

For those interested in the sessions on advocacy, the “Prescribing Change: Redefining the Physician Role in Public Health Advocacy” session is on Sunday, Oct. 6, and the “Be the Change: Lessons Learned from Sleep Health Advocates” session is on Tues, Oct. 8.

“There’s been a lot of work in the advocacy space, including physicians in more political spaces,” Bosslet said.

‘Something for everyone’

When putting together the 2024 meeting, Bosslet told Healio he made sure that there was “something for everyone.”

“ICU teams tend to be large and multidisciplinary, and CHEST has put together programming that has something for all of those members of the team,” Bosslet said.

In an effort to help attendees find sessions of interest to them, CHEST has created tracks designed for advanced practice providers, fellows, trainees and more highlighting specific sessions.

Bosslet advises attendees to download the CHEST-Events app prior to the meeting, so they can look through each day’s sessions/events and start building their schedule.

“I can almost guarantee you that at every hour of the meeting, there will be something that appeals to everyone,” Bosslet said.

All attendees should also stop by the exhibit hall as it is the biggest one CHEST has ever had, according to Bosslet.

What to expect, networking opportunities

Going into CHEST 2024, Bosslet wants all attendees to know that this meeting is an opportunity to gain wisdom, continue medical education and connect with individuals at the forefront of specific topics/areas.

“This meeting is a great place to gain new knowledge and solidify things that we already know and use every day to help care for patients,” Bosslet told Healio.

“The opportunity to create relationships and camaraderie with those who do the work that we do is also just as important,” he added.

For individuals attending CHEST for the first time, Bosslet urges them to be confident and network with those around them.

“Putting ourselves out there and becoming part of the tribe is as important as sitting and quietly consuming the information that’s given to you,” he said.

“Whether this is your first time going to CHEST or you’ve been going for 15 years, know that you’re surrounded by people who want to learn and meet other people,” Bosslet added.

There will be several networking opportunities throughout the entire duration of the meeting, including the All-Attendee Welcome Reception on Sunday evening; both the Networks Mixer and CHEST After Hours on Monday evening; and the CHEST Challenge Championship on Tuesday evening.

“There’s something every evening outside of the typical daytime symposia that are there for people to network,” Bosslet said.

“Interactions outside of the conference rooms are just as important as the learning that goes on within the rooms,” he continued.

Notably, this year’s CHEST After Hours event is in collaboration with The Nocturnists physician podcast and will feature five storytellers.

“After Hours this year will be much bigger and much better [than last year],” Bosslet told Healio.

The Healio team will be onsite in Boston during CHEST 2024. Follow our coverage of the meeting here and on X, formerly known as Twitter, @HealioPulm.

References:

• CHEST 2024 special events. https://www.chestnet.org/learning-and-events/events/chest-annual-meeting/special-events. Accessed Sept. 18, 2024.
• CHEST 2024 to celebrate legacy of ‘Black Angels’ who helped cure TB. https://chestdailynews.chestnet.org/chest-2024-to-celebrate-legacy-of-black-angels-who-helped-cure-tb/. Published Aug. 28, 2024. Accessed Sept. 18, 2024.
• Expert in global health policy to discuss challenges of climate change in keynote address. https://chestdailynews.chestnet.org/expert-in-global-health-policy-to-discuss-challenges-of-climate-change-in-keynote-address/. Published Sept. 13, 2024. Accessed Sept. 18, 2024.
• Go the extra 3.1 miles for the Boston Community. https://chestdailynews.chestnet.org/go-the-extra-3-1-miles-for-the-boston-community/. Published Sept. 11, 2024. Accessed Sept. 18, 2024.

For more information:

Gabriel T. Bosslet, MD, FCCP, can be reached at gbosslet@iu.edu.