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Professional Conferences Offer Unique “Publication” Opportunities and Advantages
Authors shouldn’t think of publication as limited to words printed on a page. In the modern age, both academic and non-academic healthcare professionals can share their ideas through a variety of channels. While traditional, scholarly avenues like medical journals and textbooks are excellent forums for the distribution of ideas, great communicators must often think more broadly and creatively in order to reach the full range of their intended audience. Professional conferences are an excellent way to do that.
Medical conferences and other professional conferences offer several advantages over traditional long form communication styles, particularly for newer authors who are intimidated by taking on their first project. But even experienced authors, researchers, and public speakers can benefit from the professional conference format. Here are some benefits to submitting your ideas to a conference:
Professional Conferences Offer Opportunities for Small Projects
Small academic projects have major advantages over larger, more complex ones. They are less intimidating, easier to plan and execute, and require a smaller investment of time and energy.
Luckily, conferences are loaded with opportunities for small projects. PAs can submit original research and even case reports as abstracts. These are much simpler undertakings than submitting a full manuscript to medical a journal. They are also great ways to test a new idea in front of an audience.
Courtney Titus, PA-C is a pediatric emergency medicine PA who turned her emergency department quality improvement project into multiple presentations at different conferences this year, including a Research in Action presentation at AAPA 2023. Despite her recent success, Titus said she might not have submitted the same work straight to a medical journal.
“Writing for a medical journal always seemed more daunting than putting together a PowerPoint presentation,” she said. “A conference poster or lecture-style presentation seemed like a more natural, accessible first step in sharing my work with a larger audience.”
After a flood of positive feedback, Titus says she feels ready to submit the work to a peer-reviewed journal.
For more on the benefits of small projects, and some ideas for non-conference projects, check out this article.
Conferences Allow for Immediate Feedback and Validation
The writing and submission process for medical journal manuscripts can be long and arduous. It can take months just to get a decision and much longer than that to see your ideas in print. Conferences offer a much shorter path to feedback and validation.
Conference research presentations and posters are often submitted, accepted, and presented in a much shorter timeframe than journal publication. They are presented in front of a live audience of attendees which means the presenter can hear immediate feedback (and praise!). This can boost the confidence of first-time writers and researchers.
“Presenting at conferences gave instant gratification by allowing me to engage with and receive feedback from my peers and colleagues,” Courtney Titus, PA-C said. “I was also able to get a better sense of the type of audience that was most interested in my topic and my work, which will help me decide which journal I will eventually choose to submit a full manuscript.”
Conferences Foster Networking and Mentorship
One of the barriers to PA research and publication is a lack of mentorship. Because so few PAs publish, few of us are available to mentor others through the process.
Conferences are a great way to meet other PAs who are interested in scholarly pursuits. Attendees can target specific lecture sessions relevant to their topic area or just wander a poster hall looking for someone interested in the same academic realm.
Experienced academics are often willing to collaborate with less experienced attendees. Annie Wildermuth, PhD, PA-C, RD is an assistant professor at the Uniformed Services University School of Medicine and is a widely published researcher who presented at AAPA 2023.
“One of the reasons I get excited about conferences is the opportunity to connect with PAs who are interested in research but don’t know where to start,” she said. “I remember blindly guessing at how to start my research and public speaking career, so I am committed to being a source of quality information and mentorship for PAs wanting to explore these avenues.”
Conferences are an excellent way to inject enthusiasm into the next phase of your healthcare career. PAs hoping to publish their work should look to conferences for presentation and networking opportunities. Over time, this type of work can raise the profile of the entire profession and benefit our colleagues and patients far into the future.
Conferences Offer New Ideas and Inspiration
Even if you aren’t officially presenting, conferences offer excellent opportunities to develop new ideas for your next writing project. Attending an interesting lecture might inspire your own, either by piggybacking off of the topic content or by absorbing the oratory techniques and delivery of impressive speakers. You might wander the poster hall trigger a research idea of your own. Or maybe you can snag some face time with a speaker in the halls of the convention center and pick their brain for pointers. You are very likely to leave the conference venue with a much more expansive perspective than when you arrived.
Portions of the above article was originally published on the Doximity website. You can find the original article in its entirety here.
More Benefits of Presenting at Conferences:
The AAPA Interview
Following their AAPA 2023 Conference, the American Academy of Physician Associates asked me the following questions regarding my experience presenting at this professional conference. The questions related to a specific conference, but the advice can be applied to any professional considering presentation submissions to any conference.
As an advocate for professional growth and knowledge exchange, what compelling reasons would you offer to inspire fellow professionals to submit their proposals for AAPA 2024?
AAPA conference proposals are an excellent entry point for PAs to showcase their clinical or non-clinical expertise and to hone their education and public speaking skills, especially if they have never presented their ideas on a national stage. Getting an instant, in-person reaction from a broad audience of PAs is incredibly valuable and, frankly, a lot of fun.
How has presenting at previous AAPA conferences enhanced your professional network and collaboration opportunities?
Often, conversations that start as lecture topics become informal discussions outside of the lecture hall. The AAPA national conference offers the chance to network with PAs of varying experience levels who share a passion for the same topic. There is still no replacement for the connections we make with face-to-face networking. I’ve met many future colleagues and collaborators at AAPA conferences.
In your opinion, what distinguishes a standout proposal that is more likely to be accepted for presentation at AAPA24?
A great proposal reflects an understanding of the audience and the forum. The PA profession is spread across the entire landscape of medicine, but presentations still need to be focused enough to offer real value in a short, hour-long time slot. A good proposal combines broad appeal with a focused, digestible topic.
What advice would you give to first-time presenters to help them feel more confident and prepared for their session?
Pick a topic you truly care about. If you are bored with the content, your audience will be, too. Beyond that, practice your presentation out loud. Your words might sound good in your head, but you have to actually speak them to really work out the kinks.
As someone who has experienced both attending and presenting at AAPA conferences, how has presenting enriched your overall conference experience?
When I have a presentation scheduled for AAPA, I arrive with a real sense of purpose. No matter how many times I present at national conferences, I want the next presentation to be the best. Besides, there is no better feeling than bumping into someone in the conference hall or hotel who says “I really loved your presentation!”
Can you share any memorable moments from past AAPA conferences that have left a lasting impact on you and your work?
I was very nervous to present at AAPA in New Orleans in 2018. It was the first time I was publicly speaking about bullying and toxic workplaces, which can be a controversial topic and one with which many organizations are hesitant to engage. The overwhelming support I received from the attendees blew me away. It started me on a path of writing, speaking, and research on this topic that I have continued to this day.
How do you approach crafting a presentation that effectively communicates complex concepts to a diverse audience with varying levels of expertise?
Simple is almost always better. Real experts can break a topic down into its most basic parts. For any topic, I decide what the two or three most basic and essential elements are. Then I determine the logical starting place for someone who knows nothing about the topic. If you take the material in small bites, you can usually lead any audience from a novice to an expert level of depth in less than an hour.
In your experience, how has presenting at AAPA conferences influenced your professional growth and opened up new opportunities in your field?
Presenting at national conferences like AAPA is an essential part of building and demonstrating professional expertise. Presenting at AAPA has opened the door to new public speaking opportunities, national leadership roles, research collaboration, and even full-time employment opportunities.
A Conversation About the Benefits of Presenting at Conferences with White Coats of the Round Table Podcast
Are you looking for even more ideas and inspiration for your next conference presentation? I sat down with the White Coats of the Round Table podcast to discuss this topic in depth. This podcast episode is a must-listen for anyone considering submitting a proposal to a professional conference. You can find the full episode at this link.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I present the same research at multiple conferences?
Presenting original research at multiple academic conferences is often frowned upon (and even considered academic dishonesty), especially if the conference is unaware of previous or simultaneous submissions and/or if the author implicitly or explicitly states the research is not previously presented/published. However, many conferences accept previously presented research. Before you present your work at additional conferences, ensure each conference accepts previously presented work, clearly state when and where your data was previously presented, and do your best to avoid self-plagiarism by re-writing or updating the work as much as possible.
What kind of academic work can I submit to conferences?
Conferences often accept pilot studies, original research, quality improvement projects, case reports and case series, meta analyses, literature reviews, and clinical topics in various formats.
How should I format abstracts for academic conferences?
Abstracts for academic conferences often follow the same structure and format as abstracts submitted with full manuscripts. Original research abstracts may include the following sections: Introduction/Purpose, Methodology, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. Check the conference submission guidelines to see the preferred format for specific conference submissions.
How can I increase my submission’s chances of acceptance to an academic conference?
Many conference websites and/or guidelines provide a submission criteria rubric or otherwise hint at the evaluation criteria for submissions. Try to match your submission to all of the available criteria. Ensure your submission is written in a simple, straightforward manner so that evaluators can understand its purpose and outcomes without additional context or explanation. Include a statement explaining how your topic and submission relate to the themes or mission of the conference, if relevant.
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