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at the Western I almost always enjoy attending conferences, and this year has been no exception. First was the PRESENT Residency Summit, a huge success and a lot of fun, especially as my first national conference as an invited speaker. Now comes another successful CME experience, the Western Foot and Ankle Conference, just concluded in in Anaheim, California. I have to congratulate Jonathan Labovitz, DPM and Shannon Rush, DPM for chairing an excellent and well attended conference, with over 1100 attendees. More and More Education is Local — How Convenient! Every conference has its own flavor and leaves the attendees with their own impressions. One impression unique to this conference was its locality. Since the Western is held at the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim — about 1 hour from where I live — I didn’t have to travel. For a moment, I thought this was a novel experience, except when I realized the significant amount of online education I’ve received in my home and office through PRESENT Podiatry. The convenience offered by this type of education is very valuable. It demonstrates the high level of quality education currently available to podiatric physicians.
More and More Education is Based on Evidence
Another impression is a positive trend I’ve noticed increasingly, and that is the improved quality of lectures this year. Now, it’s not just at the Western that I’ve seen this developing trend. I’ve seen it at the last few conferences I’ve attended. When I say “quality”, what I mean is “evidence.” Increasingly, I see lectures based on evidence — “the research literature supports my statement” rather than eminence — “I’m nationally known so it must be true.” What to Expect in Education today I’m no expert on lecturing, but as a consumer, I look for the following 3 simple criteria in a quality lecture.
This emphasis on evidence is where our national lectures and our entire profession needs to evolve towards. Now we just need to see better research to quote in our lectures! There Will Always Be Live Conferences Of course, my last impression is of the great fun meeting up with old friends and classmates, and the chance to catch up with those people I haven’t seen in years is priceless. I was amazed to find out how many of my friends now have children! It’s so heartening to see those I’ve trained with over the years becoming successful physicians and leaders. PRESENT has really raised the bar with their podiatric conferences; offering cutting edge lecture programs and hands-on surgical workshops with some of the best names in the field. Visit PRESENTConferences.com. Here’s to years of success to you all! And I’ll see you at the next conference. Keep writing in with your thoughts and comments. Better yet, post them in our eTalk forum. Best wishes.
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