Robert Frykberg, DPM, MPH PRESENT Editor, Diabetic Limb Salvage

Educational Conferences are a necessary part of your lifelong commitment to learning. They are a way to keep up with the current literature, new procedures, old procedures, and to affirm your own knowledge of the subject matters discussed. If they are not stimulating to you, then something is wrong — you are either going to the wrong meetings or you are fooling yourself. It's very easy as a senior resident to become self-assured that you already know everything. After all, you're nearly finished with three years of postgraduate training after receiving your DPM degree. You've been studying for your boards and are up on the latest procedures, classifications schemes, and even know your toxic doses of bupivacaine and lidocaine. You know more than your attendings, because they trained long ago and probably are not as smart as you are. Don't kid yourself! The first year on your own in practice will humble you quickly, especially after a few bad results and nasty complications. You'll be calling them for advice on how to approach this problem or that and will seek their counsel on how to handle a particular complication. Then you'll realize why it is so important to keep up with your continuing medical education. That's why it is required. I still love to learn from others, listen to lectures, ask questions, and challenge speakers if I think that what they are saying is off the mark. In fact, the Q&A periods after a session is usually the most valuable time of all in a conference. That is when you really get to interact with the speakers and listen to the concerns of other attendees as well. Too bad everyone runs out of the room to get coffee, food, or visit the exhibits before listening to the back and forth that is really so instructive.

You Learn a Lot from Exhibitors

Nonetheless, we all love to visit the exhibits and are remiss if we do not do so. After all, who do you really think pays the bulk of the cost to run a high quality meeting? Certainly not just the attendees' tuitions. Granted, the food and coffee is usually in the exhibit hall in most meetings to get you into the room. But I find it very educational to visit with the vendors and inquire about their products or services. I am often surprised to learn of new modalities that I hadn't been familiar with or at least find new and improved versions of instruments or procedural techniques. Speaking with vendors and probing them for technical information allows them to do their job while educating you, the attendee, as well. While it is great for the vendors, many attendees spend most of their time in the exhibit hall and miss out on the lectures in the conference hall. A balance is certainly needed, but the importance of visiting the vendors cannot be overstated- especially if you wish to continue having opportunities to attend good conferences.

It's All About Networking

I have to say that the most valuable experiences I've had at the meetings I have attended on numerous continents have been the networking opportunities. Meeting other physicians, nurses, therapists, as well as vendors and their CEOs has proven to be the most fruitful of endeavors in my career, as well as the most rewarding. Networking and developing relationships opens up new doors. If you are interested in research, meeting other researchers and research sponsors is a key benefit of being an active participant in such conferences. They don't usually just come knocking on your door when you open your practice because you are doctor so and so. Speaking with meeting faculty gets them to know you and vice versa. After numerous encounters, the professional friendships begin. Then they introduce you to their other professional friends who subsequently do the same. Those of you who might be interested in eventually lecturing need to be aware of the value of networking in this regard. Some of my best professional (and personal) friendships have been forged at conferences. The most notable benefit is that our foreign friends also run meetings, and when they know you are interested, they will often extend an invitation to you. I have traveled the world attending conferences in places I never previously heard of before receiving invitations from colleagues that I met at other conferences. The more international meetings I attended, the more opportunities were presented to me to travel internationally.

Diversify — It's Good for You and Good for Podiatry

Most importantly, broaden your horizons! Don't just attend Podiatry meetings- you will get too inbred. Attend (at least) orthopaedic meetings to find out how your non-podiatric colleagues handle similar situations we all encounter in practice. We all treat the same human beings ! Attend medical conferences, especially diabetes meetings, since we treat so many patients with diabetic foot disorders. Learn new things and develop new medical acquaintances. Attend wound care meetings with your nursing colleagues- these are always fun, because they are so large and present such a variety of new information. The more types of meetings you attend, the more varied will be the people you meet. Different ideas acquired from new and different lecturers than you are accustomed to will result in new changes for your own practice- and new networking opportunities. Try an overseas meeting at some point and your eyes will really be opened as to how we are all very similar in our practices and in the problems we treat. As I previously mentioned, some of my most enduring professional relationships have been engendered at international meetings.

After 30 plus years of practicing, I still enjoy attending conferences, whether it be as an attendee or faculty. It is a chance to meet up with old friends and make new ones- all in the guise of continuing medical education. Remember, they call it a practice because you never quite get it right and your education never stops. It might as well be fun also.

See you at the Residency Summit in Chicago. And be sure not to wear your scrubs!

Best regards,

Robert Frykberg, DPM, MPH
PRESENT Editor,
Diabetic Limb Salvage

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