Photo: Steve Schneider
ATS 2015 is one of the largest conferences in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine in the world. Having your itinerary planned in advance is essential to maximizing your time while navigating its many offerings. As you determine which session tracks fit your needs and which poster presentations and symposia hold the keys to your research or clinical questions, be sure to round out your schedule with more learning opportunities that are available before and between sessions.
Sunrise Seminars
Wake up early for a morning of education and a continental breakfast during ATS 2015 when you attend a sunrise seminar. Choose from 54 sunrise seminars, which run a gamut of issues facing specialists in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine with well-established and up-and-coming researchers. Offered from 7 to 8 a.m., Monday through Wednesday, May 18-20, these popular intimate sessions fill up quickly. Pre-registration is required. The registration fee, which includes continental breakfast, is $65.
Highlights include the Monday seminar “How to Safely Step Down Asthma Medications,” which will help attendees identify patients who are good candidates for stepping down asthma medications. The seminar will also cover how to quantify the benefits and risks of stepping down asthma medications, and communicate these with patients .
Also, Tuesday’s “Social Media and the Health Care Provider: The Nuts and Bolts of Digital Media” will look at how to navigate and understand current digital media strategies, examine the risks and benefits of the use of these platforms professionally, and address how social media can help improve the quality of communication with patients.
Meet the Professor Seminars
The expert speakers at the meet the professor seminars from 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday, May 17-19, will provide current and historical perspectives on 44 subjects, including “Patients Are from Earth; Physicians Are from Venus: Enhancing Patient-Physician Communication, A Dialogue with Experts” and “Electronic Cigarettes: Potential Harms and Benefits.” These informal, one-hour lunch sessions require pre-registration, and seating is limited.
Thematic Seminar Series
The thematic seminar series takes a cue from the sunrise seminar and meet the professor seminar formats, giving participants an informal setting in which they can meet top-notch speakers. Topics include “Domiciliary Non Invasive Ventilation for COPD” and “Endobronchial Ultrasound,” which take place in three parts 12:15 to 1:15 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday, May 17-19. Registrants must participate in all three parts. Seating is limited, and pre-registration is required.
Workshops
Each day, two lunchtime programs will be offered from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m., for a total of eight workshops. They will kick off Sunday, May 17, with one focusing on “Specimen Acquisition Ascertainment of Mutational Markers in Non Small Cell Lung Cancer.” The objectives of this workshop are to alert practitioners of a changing standard of care for tissue processing for non-small cell lung cancer; discuss the algorithm for diagnostic and mutational analysis; and apply the techniques discussed in this session to maximize the effectiveness of diagnostic procedures with regard to non-small cell cancer. Seating is limited, and pre-registration is required for the workshops, which require an additional fee.
Exhibit Hall
While ATS 2015 allows plenty of time to visit the Exhibit Hall, no sessions or events will conflict with your time on the floor from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. Sunday through Tuesday, May 17-19. Complimentary beverages and dessert will also be served during this hour, and complimentary coffee will be served each morning at 11 a.m.
The Exhibit Hall also is open three additional hours over last year, and on Sunday and Tuesday it is open until 5 p.m. after educational sessions are over.
During these times, freely explore the Exhibit Hall without any scheduling conflicts, and expand your educational experience. Learn about the latest therapies, medical devices, publications, and research services. Meet with experts, participate in live demonstrations, and compare products and services.
