The “24-Hour Emergency Medicine People Conference”

I had the honor of attending and presenting at the 2015 Royal College of Emergency Medicine’s (RCEM) Annual Scientific Conference in Manchester, United Kingdom.

The theme of this year’s conference was “24-Hour Emergency Medicine People: The Specialty That Never Sleeps.” This three-day, sold-out event was attended primarily by emergency physicians, as well as other physician specialists, educators, nurses and EMS professionals.

The RCEM conference was the first since receiving their official royal charter, and it addressed many of the challenges facing emergency clinicians in the UK. Yet, this was a true international conference in terms of speakers and attendees, as well as the presented information itself being distributed freely and globally. From the first moments of the opening ceremony the conference strongly encouraged attendees to use digital devices to take photos and notes and to share and comment using Twitter and other social media platforms.

Many of the top names from the Social Media and Critical Care (SMACC) and Free Open Access Medical Education (FOAMed) movements presented sessions including Dr. Scott Weingart <emCrit.com>, Prof. Simon Carley, Dr. Rick Body and Dr. Natalie May <StEmlynsblog.org>, Dr. Cliff Reid <resus.me>, Dr. Salim Rexale <rebelEM.com> and many more.

In addition, many of the presentations were recorded for later distribution via podcast. A band of royal, purple-clad roving reporters lead by Dr. Linda Dykes from Bangor Emergency Department was on hand to document and live tweet each session so no one would miss critical information simply because they were attending another session or could not make the conference.

The fact that this was "not your Grandad’s" medical conference was evident everywhere, from the embedded presence of social media to the modern design of the slide decks to the social activities surrounding the conference, which gave educators and attendees plenty of time to network and discuss the content of the presentations.

One notable difference between a UK emergency medicine conference and most conferences in North America is the presence of a facilitator in each session. The facilitator is on-hand to introduce each speaker and moderate the Q&A session that follow each presentation. There were no awkward silences after calls for questions. At the core of virtually every questions was a desire for ways to use the new knowledge. As a speaker, I can say that it was both a challenge and a thrill to help attendees connect new information and ideas with their every day clinical practice and real patients.

While conference tracks were dedicated to the latest research in cardiac, stroke, trauma, sepsis and other clinical concerns, there were several sessions devoted specifically to the unique structure and current challenges facing the UK's National Health Service. In some cases these were led by an individual or panel of experts in the subject, but in many cases speakers like myself were asked to bring an outside perspective and give attendees some insight into the challenges and successful solutions that could be found outside the UK.

Interestingly, the education wasn’t isolated to the presentation rooms and online discussion. In the central hall, vendors, specialty organizations and independent poster presentations focused on a variety of medical specialties, including EMS and prehospital medicine. EMS was represented by a full-sized ambulance simulation unit staffed by educator/operators eager to discuss how attendees could take the information they’d acquired and apply it in real-world situations was parked on the floor.

Despite a few minor glitches that are almost inevitable for any conference seeking to incorporate technology into every session, the conference organizing committee and Chair Dr. Rick Body did a fantastic job in assembling emergency care providers in the UK with presenters from around the world to “celebrate our mutual passions for emergency care” and “the cutting-edge of emergency medicine.”