ACR Convergence 2021 will build on the successes of last year’s virtual meeting while expanding engagement opportunities for participants, said Swamy Venuturupalli, MD, Chair of the ACR Education Committee.

Emmy Award-winning journalist, educator, and poet Seema Yasmin, MD, will examine how the COVID-19 pandemic could change the practice of rheumatology and what lessons must be learned from such a public health crisis.

This year’s expanded Patient Perspectives program will feature digital posters and a special oral presentation session. The goal of the program is to create a platform for patients to share their personal experiences, said Puja Khanna, MD, MPH, FACR.

Several overlapping themes have emerged in basic and clinical research, prompting meeting planners to combine two special sessions into a two-day event focused on COVID-19, said Kristine Kuhn, MD, PhD, Chair of the ACR Committee on Research.

Annual Meeting Planning Committee member Aimee Chen-Wiener, APRN, MSN, will moderate this year’s expanded boot camp on Friday, Nov. 5. The three-hour session will feature expert presentations from three radiologists.