I wish to thank you all very much for supporting and attending the recent joint ISOM/NASOM meeting which was held in Toronto at the end of September 2022. It had been a somewhat long and difficult journey to get there and I developed a personal understanding of the sacrifices, fortitude and dedication that an Olympic athlete undertakes in order to prepare for and compete at the highest level.
One of the biggest decisions which I have made as ISOM president to date was to pursue a hybrid model, with the support of the ISOM Council, for our first International Congress of the Covid era. One of the key objectives of ISOM is promoting collegiality within our specialty. I had wanted as many members as possible to attend and participate in this meeting without having to worry about potential travel cancellations, health restrictions and the usual political challenges of visas. I was determined that this meeting must proceed having already been postponed twice.
There were many challenges with no established playbook as to how the logistics and finances would pan out. I had to be ready to respond to a variety of scenarios relating to whether most of the attendees would be in-person or virtual, how the in-person and virtual attendees would interact with each other, or whether if the meeting could even proceed in Toronto at all, should another wave of infections occur there during that time. I had not appreciated that my experience as a Clinician and Clinical Administrator would have prepared me perfectly for this task. Patients do not always fit the textbook descriptions, the unexpected is always possible and most importantly, the support of colleagues and good teamwork is critical to a successful outcome.
A good number of very pleasant surprises evolved throughout the process. Firstly, at our regular update meetings, the organizing committee was constantly reminded that there were many more in-person than virtual registrants though as expected, several virtual registrations occurred immediately just prior to the meeting. Secondly, I did not recognize a lot of the registrants’ names as they were junior faculty, trainees and even medical students. I was especially excited about this as it reflected that our wonderful specialty is growing in popularity and stature internationally. Thirdly, our hands-on Point of Care Ultrasound workshop was highly successful and reinforced that certain aspects of the educational experience can only be attained in person! And lastly, despite some minor technical glitches at various times, everything went very smoothly and I was especially relieved that the feedback from the virtual attendees was overall very positive.
My impression from this experience is that the hybrid model brings a number of benefits to our global Obstetric Medicine family and will likely stay for future meetings. We will continue to commit to in-person meetings, in a range of locations around the world, partnering with different regional societies in order to maintain as many connections and establish as many new collaborations as possible.
Following executive council approval in Toronto, it is my pleasure to announce that ISOM will be partnering with SOMANZ for the next meeting to be held in Sydney at the end of 2024. I look forward to seeing as many of you there in person (or virtually)!
Kenneth K Chen, President of ISOM
Attending the biennial ISOM conference is a highlight of my professional development calendar, but the travel impact restrictions of the pandemic had made travel to Canada especially challenging for many of us. Fortunately, ISOM took the opportunity to present a hybrid conference, allowing those of us unable to attend to be part of the ISOM experience. Hybrid conferences allow an infinite number of attendees, reduced travel and environmental costs, and access for those who are unable to cross political borders. The recorded content is also a resource for all delegates, not just the virtual audience.
The virtual delegates were able to share the live experience when time zones allowed, whilst accessing other content at more convenient times. I felt like I was able to meet the community of Obstetric Medicine specialists, both past, present and emerging. And there were plenty of opportunities for those of us online to chat and interact with the presenters and other virtual attendees as if we were there ourselves.
What we missed though were the interactions with colleagues in a relaxed environment and the serendipity of conversations about mutual clinical and research interests. I could not sit down next to an unfamiliar face and introduce myself and hear about their journey in Obstetric Medicine. I missed meeting old friends and making new ones. Perhaps most importantly, I missed the time away from my usual environment to reassess and recharge. I appreciate and acknowledge the value of the virtual option but nothing will replace the human experience. I also look forward to welcoming you to Sydney in 2024.
Sandra A Lowe, Immediate Past President of ISOM
Footnotes
Declaration of conflicting interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding: The author(s) received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
ORCID iDs: Kenneth K Chen https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7601-2214
Sandra A Lowe https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3858-6011
Contributor Information
Kenneth K Chen, President of ISOM, Associate Professor of Medicine & ObGyn, Brown University, USA Email: kenneth_k_chen@brown.edu.
Sandra A Lowe, Immediate Past President of ISOM, Associate Professor of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia.