Meeting Voices: Academy Leaders Talk about What Goes Into a Great Annual Meeting Experience
The Bulletin asked some of the Academy’s leaders a few questions regarding what goes into getting the most of the Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO. Look for additional views in upcoming issues. They shared what works for them and what doesn’t. Here’s what they had to say: Michael G. Glenn, MD Presidential candidate Michael G. Glenn, MD, Virginia Mason Medical Center, Seattle, WA, said it is important for physicians to challenge themselves and take courses outside their area of interest and expertise. He said, for him, this has always been an entertaining way to catch up on other areas of the specialty. “I am the medical director of a large clinic here in Seattle, and I think it is fascinating to learn all of the things about other specialties that I’ve never had other exposure to,” he said. “With the meeting, I can go deep into something I’ve not been exposed to because the schedule makes it easy to get access and provides me an opportunity to keep up on areas outside my areas of expertise.” Dr. Glenn said he also makes sure to plan out his daily schedule prior to the meeting, but makes sure not to subscribe to too many sessions. “You’ll always be running off to session after session when you might want to stop and catch up with a colleague or talk to someone you wanted to meet,” he said. “But you also don’t want to show up at the meeting without a plan, because then you’ll probably miss out on a popular session. You have to find that balance.” Dr. Glenn also cautioned against following the flock. “Just because a session is popular, that doesn’t mean you need to choose it,” he said. “I have been to so many miniseminars where only 12 people are in the room, but it was probably the best thing I learned about all day. The miniseminars are really under-represented—there are always little-known secrets in there.” Eben L. Rosenthal, MD Coordinator-Elect for Scientific Programs Eben L. Rosenthal, MD, UAB School of Medicine, Division of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Birmingham, AL, said planning ahead is as important from a social standpoint as it is from an educational one. “If I know as much about the schedule as I can ahead of time, I can schedule lunches with colleagues,” he said. “I can also get to as much of the meeting as I want and make it to all of the sessions I want to attend.” Dr. Rosenthal said he also encourages meeting attendees to participate in committees and get involved in the meeting itself. Part of that process includes registering early. “Getting all of that taken care of—registering for the meeting, your hotel, identifying any particular areas you want to increase your knowledge, and scheduling two or three miniseminars—helps a lot,” he said. “I feel I get more out of it if I have some sort of focus for the year. “A great year for me is all about involvement—the more I participate, the more I enjoy it. When I’m giving an instruction course or I’m involved with a committee, etc., I feel more engaged and I get more out of it.” Dr. Rosenthal said it is also important to schedule time with colleagues with whom he wants to catch up. “That makes for a really good year if I’ve emailed ahead and set up those meetings,” he said. “It always makes a big difference in how much I enjoy my time. Doing that planning prior to the trip makes for a great meeting.” Kathleen Yaremchuk, MD, MSA Kathleen Yaremchuk, MD, MSA, Henery Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI, a candidate for academic director-at-large, also stressed planning ahead. “Register for the meeting and the hotel as soon as possible,” she said. “If you need to make changes to your arrival and departure dates you can do so easily if you have reservations to begin with. Review the course selection and lectures to plot out a strategy as to where to spend your time.” Dr. Yaremchuk, who serves as the chair of the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and Sleep Medicine at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, said morning lectures often stimulate her thoughts and are usually the best lectures of the meeting. She said the social aspect of the meeting is also important to her. “It is helpful to contact friends and arrange to catch up with the people you trained with,” she said. “I am amazed how many ex-residents get together at the annual meeting and tell stories of the ‘good old days’ in residency. Many have stayed in close contact ever since residency.” Lastly, she said, leave time to stop and take a breather. “Leave time to enjoy yourself,” she said. “Don’t over commit to many courses. Be spontaneous and enjoy the city where the meeting is at.” Shannon P. Pryor, MD Section for Women in Otolaryngology Chair Shannon P. Pryor, MD, with Mid-Atlantic Permanente Medical Group, said her approach to meetings today is quite different than it was during her early years at the Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO. “Now I have so many committee meetings, I’m not able to take advantage of as much of the meeting as I was before,” she said. “But when I wasn’t so committed, I looked at the schedule ahead of time and arranged my work schedule to see what was available each day, decide what courses I did not want to miss, and planned my days around those courses I wanted to take.” Dr. Pryor said she always preferred the miniseminars and longer-format presentations. “I always looked at those and planned my day from there, then I’d go to the research sessions in between if I had time,” she said. “I also always blocked off two hours—and not at lunch, because you don’t get to talk to the exhibitors when it is so crowded—mostly in the afternoon to walk through and look at the presentations at a quieter time. And with regard to the miniseminars, it was always fun to learn about something outside what I do everyday and stretch myself a little bit.” Dr. Pryor said she also encourages attendees to attend committee meetings and see what is going on. “Go to the Board of Governors meeting,” she said. “Take advantage of those opportunities and the committee meetings, too. I think most are open to all to attend and I hope people go to those functions. There is a lot going on that people need to know about.” Dr. Pryor said the sessions on socioeconomic, practice management, and quality improvement initiatives are also important and should not be overlooked. “It is not just all science and clinical out there,” she said. Jayme R. Dowdall, MD Section for Residents and Fellows representative Jayme R. Dowdall, MD, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, Boston MA said she tells newer members to plan ahead, but also encourages them to become familiar with the Academy’s website, www.entnet.org/annualmeeting. “It is important to have a list of first-, second-, and third-line choices for courses, because free tickets are available to residents and fellows and they need to sign up and take advantage of those,” she said. “There are also a lot of other meetings surrounding the Academy’s meeting that are especially pertinent to new members. If you search to see if any of these dovetail into the Adacemy Meetings, you can really make the most out of the trip.” Dr. Dowdall said she also encourages residents and fellows to attend committee meetings, which are open to all attendees. “This increases your chances of being placed on that committee in the future,” she said. “So it is important to look on the website and to plan your flights and activities around these events.” Dr. Dowdall also stressed how important it is to attend the Residents and Fellows General Assembly. “This is typically on Monday afternoon and it has been beneficial to me in the past because of the breakout sessions and the opportunity to talk with Academy leaders,” she said. “For instance, one year I was able to get a lot of information about core grants and how to review grants for core, which was important to me. The assembly is also a great place to check out things that interest you. It is a great information session, and it also provides you an opportunity to talk to lots of people in a short amount of time.” Dr. Dowdall said a new tool will be available for residents and fellows this year. “I always found the annual meeting to be overwhelming as a resident,” she said. “So this year, we are putting together a Section for Residents and Fellows Guide to the meeting. It will be up on the website prior to this year’s meeting. And we will also be offering free resident and fellow miniseminars, just as we have in past years.”
The Bulletin asked some of the Academy’s leaders a few questions regarding what goes into getting the most of the Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO. Look for additional views in upcoming issues. They shared what works for them and what doesn’t. Here’s what they had to say:
Michael G. Glenn, MD
“I am the medical director of a large clinic here in Seattle, and I think it is fascinating to learn all of the things about other specialties that I’ve never had other exposure to,” he said. “With the meeting, I can go deep into something I’ve not been exposed to because the schedule makes it easy to get access and provides me an opportunity to keep up on areas outside my areas of expertise.”
Dr. Glenn said he also makes sure to plan out his daily schedule prior to the meeting, but makes sure not to subscribe to too many sessions.
“You’ll always be running off to session after session when you might want to stop and catch up with a colleague or talk to someone you wanted to meet,” he said. “But you also don’t want to show up at the meeting without a plan, because then you’ll probably miss out on a popular session. You have to find that balance.”
Dr. Glenn also cautioned against following the flock.
“Just because a session is popular, that doesn’t mean you need to choose it,” he said. “I have been to so many miniseminars where only 12 people are in the room, but it was probably the best thing I learned about all day. The miniseminars are really under-represented—there are always little-known secrets in there.”
Eben L. Rosenthal, MD
Coordinator-Elect for Scientific Programs Eben L. Rosenthal, MD, UAB School of Medicine, Division of Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery, Birmingham, AL, said planning ahead is as important from a social standpoint as it is from an educational one.
“If I know as much about the schedule as I can ahead of time, I can schedule lunches with colleagues,” he said. “I can also get to as much of the meeting as I want and make it to all of the sessions I want to attend.”
Dr. Rosenthal said he also encourages meeting attendees to participate in committees and get involved in the meeting itself. Part of that process includes registering early.
“Getting all of that taken care of—registering for the meeting, your hotel, identifying any particular areas you want to increase your knowledge, and scheduling two or three miniseminars—helps a lot,” he said. “I feel I get more out of it if I have some sort of focus for the year.
“A great year for me is all about involvement—the more I participate, the more I enjoy it. When I’m giving an instruction course or I’m involved with a committee, etc., I feel more engaged and I get more out of it.”
Dr. Rosenthal said it is also important to schedule time with colleagues with whom he wants to catch up.
“That makes for a really good year if I’ve emailed ahead and set up those meetings,” he said. “It always makes a big difference in how much I enjoy my time. Doing that planning prior to the trip makes for a great meeting.”
Kathleen Yaremchuk, MD, MSA
“Register for the meeting and the hotel as soon as possible,” she said. “If you need to make changes to your arrival and departure dates you can do so easily if you have reservations to begin with. Review the course selection and lectures to plot out a strategy as to where to spend your time.”
Dr. Yaremchuk, who serves as the chair of the Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and Sleep Medicine at the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, said morning lectures often stimulate her thoughts and are usually the best lectures of the meeting. She said the social aspect of the meeting is also important to her.
“It is helpful to contact friends and arrange to catch up with the people you trained with,” she said. “I am amazed how many ex-residents get together at the annual meeting and tell stories of the ‘good old days’ in residency. Many have stayed in close contact ever since residency.”
Lastly, she said, leave time to stop and take a breather.
“Leave time to enjoy yourself,” she said. “Don’t over commit to many courses. Be spontaneous and enjoy the city where the meeting is at.”
Shannon P. Pryor, MD
“Now I have so many committee meetings, I’m not able to take advantage of as much of the meeting as I was before,” she said. “But when I wasn’t so committed, I looked at the schedule ahead of time and arranged my work schedule to see what was available each day, decide what courses I did not want to miss, and planned my days around those courses I wanted to take.”
Dr. Pryor said she always preferred the miniseminars and longer-format presentations.
“I always looked at those and planned my day from there, then I’d go to the research sessions in between if I had time,” she said. “I also always blocked off two hours—and not at lunch, because you don’t get to talk to the exhibitors when it is so crowded—mostly in the afternoon to walk through and look at the presentations at a quieter time. And with regard to the miniseminars, it was always fun to learn about something outside what I do everyday and stretch myself a little bit.”
Dr. Pryor said she also encourages attendees to attend committee meetings and see what is going on.
“Go to the Board of Governors meeting,” she said. “Take advantage of those opportunities and the committee meetings, too. I think most are open to all to attend and I hope people go to those functions. There is a lot going on that people need to know about.”
Dr. Pryor said the sessions on socioeconomic, practice management, and quality improvement initiatives are also important and should not be overlooked.
“It is not just all science and clinical out there,” she said.
Jayme R. Dowdall, MD
“It is important to have a list of first-, second-, and third-line choices for courses, because free tickets are available to residents and fellows and they need to sign up and take advantage of those,” she said. “There are also a lot of other meetings surrounding the Academy’s meeting that are especially pertinent to new members. If you search to see if any of these dovetail into the Adacemy Meetings, you can really make the most out of the trip.”
Dr. Dowdall said she also encourages residents and fellows to attend committee meetings, which are open to all attendees.
“This increases your chances of being placed on that committee in the future,” she said. “So it is important to look on the website and to plan your flights and activities around these events.”
Dr. Dowdall also stressed how important it is to attend the Residents and Fellows General Assembly.
“This is typically on Monday afternoon and it has been beneficial to me in the past because of the breakout sessions and the opportunity to talk with Academy leaders,” she said. “For instance, one year I was able to get a lot of information about core grants and how to review grants for core, which was important to me. The assembly is also a great place to check out things that interest you. It is a great information session, and it also provides you an opportunity to talk to lots of people in a short amount of time.”
Dr. Dowdall said a new tool will be available for residents and fellows this year.
“I always found the annual meeting to be overwhelming as a resident,” she said. “So this year, we are putting together a Section for Residents and Fellows Guide to the meeting. It will be up on the website prior to this year’s meeting. And we will also be offering free resident and fellow miniseminars, just as we have in past years.”