What Should Future In-Person Podiatric Conferences Look Like?

"I'm not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it."¹

—Niccolo Machiavelli

"One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions. Today, our very survival depends on our ability to stay awake, to adjust to new ideas, to remain vigilant and to face the challenge of change."²

—Martin Luther King, Jr.

In my opinion, post-pandemic in-person continuing education contact hours (CECH) in podiatric medicine and surgery is in a stupor, dazed and confused despite the best efforts of all responsible for putting on conferences. The proliferation of online CECH options due to the pandemic, the battle for the ever-shrinking corporate dollar, the changing CECH needs of today's podiatric physicians and surgeons, and the simple fact there are way too many podiatric meetings result in an untenable archetype.
 
State component requirements on the ratio of online versus in-person CECH are established by their individual statute or regulation. Recent social media debates I have observed on this topic demonstrate that the CECH world is at a crossroads. I expect most states, but not all, to continue to make CECH requirements partially in-person.
 
I serve as the Continuing Education (CE) Committee Chair for the Indiana Podiatric Medical Association (IPMA) and have done so for 30 years. The annual IPMA Fall Conference essentially breaks even despite world-class content, outstanding leadership from the IPMA Board, and management by our association management company and executive director. The time and energy many of us put into the event do not benefit the association despite our best efforts. Indiana is a medium-sized state component based on membership and, in my opinion, reflects the current situation for many other components. 
 
Several years ago, my friend and colleague, APMA Past President Ira Kraus, DPM, proposed replacing state and regional meetings with six national seminars. The meetings would be the New York State Podiatric Clinical Conference, the Florida Podiatric Medical Association Science and Management Symposium, the Texas Podiatric Medical Association Southwest Foot and Ankle Conference, the California Podiatric Medical Association Western Foot and Ankle Conference, the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS) Scientific Conference, and the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) National APMA Annual Scientific Meeting. Other organizations providing CECH like the Podiatry Institute, the International Foot and Ankle Federation, and PRESENT could participate or not.
 
I think the idea is brilliant, and its time has come. However, I am speaking on my opinion only, not on behalf of APMA as a Trustee. Each Super Six seminar could mirror the revenue-sharing model used by regional meetings to support states. The state's profit-sharing metric is the number of component's members attending the Super Six Seminars.
 
One convention would take place approximately every 2 months. The Super Six Seminars would not be just another CECH meeting; they would be events with a capital “E.” I recommend the profession’s surgery and medicine educational colleges be responsible for the academic content of the meetings. The ACFAS and APMA meetings could rotate locations nationally, while the state-based meetings could rotate cities as determined by the component.
 
Another potential benefit is the opportunity to enfranchise the APMA affiliate organizations by allowing each to have an affiliate track at one of the Super Six Seminars. Affiliate participation provides a forum and revenue-sharing to support their respective organizations.
 
Corporate sponsors would pay more to go to fewer meetings. Major corporate sponsors spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on meetings. Companies do not see the return on investment to continue with the same kind of support, particularly with the rise in online CECH opportunities. In speaking with major corporate supporters of the podiatric field, they would pay more per meeting if significantly fewer meetings existed while saving money due to less travel. Additionally, the concept of larger conferences consisting of thousands of attendees instead of hundreds of attendees and the accompanying robust exhibit halls is particularly appealing. Corporate sponsorship will continue to diminish if the profession does not change the convention paradigm.
 
The competition for the in-person attendee registration is finite. Yet, all these meetings continue to fight for a slice of an increasingly shrinking pie. Much of the increasing competition for the in-person attendee centers on online CECHs, but other factors are also related to today's world. I liken it to watching a movie in the theater compared to streaming a movie at home. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have crushed movie cinemas, and their continued existence remains tenuous.
 
The writing is on the wall, and from my point of view, the profession can read it or suffer the consequences of keeping the status quo. Bold, imaginative, thoughtful action is required now because later could be too late. I see this as an opportunity to unify the profession on multiple levels while providing the financial resources to stabilize state components and affiliate organizations. More importantly, this daring plan meets the CECH needs of today's podiatric physicians.
 
To quote Theodore Roosevelt, "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat."³

Dr. DeHeer is the Residency Director of the St. Vincent Hospital Podiatry Program in Indianapolis. He is a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons, a Fellow of the American Society of Podiatric Surgeons, a Fellow of the American College of Foot and Ankle Pediatrics, a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Podiatric Surgery. Dr. DeHeer is a Partner with Upperline Health and the Medical Director of Upperline Health Indiana. Dr. DeHeer discloses that he is a speaker for Paragon 28.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Podiatry Today or HMP Global, their employees and affiliates. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors are of their opinion and are not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, association, organization, company, individual, anyone or anything.

References
1.     https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/niccolo_machiavelli_384159?src=t_status_quo
2.     https://www.azquotes.com/quote/355410?ref=challenging-the-status-quo
3.     https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7-it-is-not-the-critic-who-counts-not-the-man