The unplanned meetings at the International Conference are as important as the planned ones.
Just as ATS International Conference attendees appreciate the meeting for its stellar programming, they too hold networking opportunities in high regard.
For International Conference Committee Chair David H. Au, MD, MS, networking is a priority.
The value of networking that attendees garner from this meeting, said Dr. Au, associate professor, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, cannot be found elsewhere.
“No other meeting in pulmonary critical care medicine brings the breadth of expertise in research and clinical practice together at the same place at the same time,” he said.
Such opportunities often foster connections that lead to joint research projects, referrals, jobs, grants and published papers.
“You meet people whose papers you’ve read, but you would never reach out to them. You find people who have read your papers, and they walk up to your poster or they walk up to your session and introduce themselves. The value of networking for professionals is amazing,” said Dr. Au, who is acting director of the Northwest Health Services Research and Development Center of Excellence.
This year’s International Conference offers attendees several avenues for networking with colleagues. The list below is a sampling.
Center for Fellows and Junior Professionals
Hours: 7 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Sunday, May 20-Tuesday, May 22
Location: Room 130, North Building (Lower Level), Moscone Center
The Center for Fellows and Junior Professionals (CFJP) is a networking and career development forum for residents, fellows and junior professionals. Each day career experts will present workshops on issues of concern to clinical and postdoctoral fellows and/or junior professionals.
Among the resources available are copies of the Road Map for Fellows and Junior Professionals, which highlights sessions of interest to fellows and members of the interdisciplinary team; the Grant Resource Guide; and the Society’s Consider This!brochure.
Complimentary breakfast will be served beginning at 7 a.m., and a social hour with cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served beginning at 3:30 p.m.
Clinicians Center
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, May 20; 10 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday, May 21; and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, May 22
Location: Exhibit Hall
The Clinicians Center is a physicians’ lounge designed for practicing clinicians. The center will feature live hands-on demonstrations each afternoon with these ATS experts:
Sunday: Endobronchial ultrasound with David Feller-Kopman, MD, associate professor of medicine and director of bronchoscopy and interventional pulmonology, Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore
Monday: Ultrasonography with Pierre Kory, MPA, MD, assistant professor and director of simulation training, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, New York
Tuesday: Portable monitoring/continuous positive airway pressure with Charles Atwood, MD, associate professor of medicine, University of Pittsburgh, and assistant chief of medicine and director of the sleep disorders program, Veterans Affairs Pittsburgh Healthcare System
Also meet with government advocates from the ATS office in Washington; a billing and coding consultant (by appointment); a representative from the American Board of Internal Medicine to discuss Maintenance of Certification; the new editor of Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society, John Hansen-Flaschen, MD; and former ATS President Dean Schraufnagel, MD, about World Spirometry Day, June 27.
A social hour featuring cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be from noon to 1 p.m.
Diversity and Women’s Forums
Diversity Forum
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Sunday, May 20
Location: San Francisco Marriott Marquis
Supported by an educational grant from Merck, the Diversity Forum focuses on career development of minorities and disparities in healthcare. The program will feature a panel discussion on career challenges and opportunities. The 2012 Minority Trainee Travel Awards, which are also supported by Merck , will be presented. The host will be Yolanda Mageto, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington.
Hours: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday, May 21
Location: San Francisco Marriott Marquis
Supported by an educational grant from Merck, the Women’s Forum highlights the advancement of women in pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine. This year’s program will feature a panel discussion on life-work balance for female medical professionals and recognition of the 2012 Elizabeth A. Rich MD awardee, Pamela L. Zeitlin, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics, Eudowood Division of Pediatric Respiratory Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. Anne Dixon, MD, associate professor of medicine and director of pulmonary and critical care medicine at the University of Vermont College of Medicine, Burlington, and chair of the ATS Membership Committee, will host the event.
Fellows and Junior Professionals Exchange
Hours: 5:30-6:30 p.m. Saturday, May 19
Location: Esplanade Lobby, South Building, Moscone Center
The Fellows and Junior Professionals Exchange is an annual event for residents, fellows, postdocs and other junior professionals. The program, which follows the Opening Ceremony, allows attendees to network and mingle with peers, as well as provides a brief orientation about the International Conference.
International Participants Center
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, May 20-Tuesday, May 22,
Location: West Building (Level 2), Moscone Center
All international participants are invited to visit the International Participants Center. The center is designed to enhance the conference experience for participants from outside North America and provide opportunities for all participants to become more knowledgeable about ATS international activities. The center also provides a place to talk with ATS International Activities staff from the Washington office, meet with colleagues, network, check email, grab a cup of coffee or just relax during your time at ATS 2012.
The center also provides a venue for current and former ATS International Trainee Travel Awardees and the MECOR (Methods in Epidemiologic, Clinical, and Operations Research) Graduate Travel Awardees to meet and network with each other or work with their mentors.
Science and Innovation Center
Hours: 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, May 20; 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday, May 21; and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Tuesday, May 22
Location: Exhibit Hall
New to the ATS International Conference, the Science and Innovation Center (SIC) is a forum for scientists and researchers to network with each other, learn about research-related resources, and consult informally with designated experts about study designs.
Three assemblies—Respiratory Cell and Molecular Biology (RCMB), Respiratory Structure and Function (RSF), and Allergy, Immunology and Inflammation (AII)—will offer a list highlighting their 2012 Conference symposia, coupons with discounts for webcasts of their symposia, their postgraduate courses presented at ATS 2010 and 2011 conferences, and their assembly materials. Also look for the Members In Transition and Training Grant Resource Guide and the Career Talk CD. Representatives from the National Institutes of Health and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute will be available to discuss funding resources and provide materials.
Breakfast, afternoon cocktails and hors d’oeuvres will be served.