Taking advantage of data collected from previous meetings, this year’s Clinical Practice Track has been crafted to include new topics of interest to those in the rheumatology specialty as well as the bread and butter rheumatology education that is always the highlight of the ACR meeting every year.
“We explored some new concepts to include in this year’s meeting, especially for the next generation of learner as well as trying to make it more interactive and not as didactic,” said Diane Kamen, MD, MSCR, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Rheumatology at the Medical University of South Carolina and a member of the 2019 Annual Meeting Planning Committee.
New this year is a Daily Digest that will occur at 4:30 PM on Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday, and will feature a 30-minute review of the top presentations of the day.
“We heard in feedback from attendees about how they love high impact summaries, knowing that they can’t possibly get to every single thing. Having someone break it all down for them at the end of the busy day was requested, so we’re excited about these new sessions,” said Dr. Kamen.
Dr. Kamen offered some other suggested sessions that should appeal to those interested in the latest evidence-based education in clinical practice.
- ACR: Year in Review (7:30 AM, Sunday, Nov. 10) — “Every year this is one of the most popular sessions, and we always have wonderful speakers summarizing the year’s worth discoveries in clinical research. It is always be full of surprises as well because the presenters get a lot of leeway to highlight things that maybe have been missed or not fully appreciated,” said Dr. Kamen.
- Clinicopathologic Conference: Lupus or Felis? (7:30 AM, Monday, Nov. 11) — Faculty will present an interesting and complex case of what initially appeared to be systemic lupus erythematosus, but upon further testing was revealed to be another disease. There will be a presentation of the associated radiographic and pathologic features along with a final discussion of the ultimate diagnosis.
- Curbside Consults (4:30 PM, Tuesday, Nov. 12) — “Curbside consults is always a favorite, and this year we have three presenters speaking about management of antiphospholipid syndrome, management of Raynaud’s phenomenon and management of challenging autoimmune hearing loss. Those are very hot topics in rheumatology, so it’s nice to get all of their pearls presented in one information packed session,” said Dr. Kamen.
- Doctor, Should I Get This App? (9:00 AM, Sunday, Nov. 10) — This session is just one of several addressing technology challenges clinicians face with their patients. Dr. Kamen noted that the session should help clinicians identify which medical apps could help in their practices or are good to recommend to their patients.
- Doctors’ Toolbox: Learning to Communicate and Teach (9:30 AM, Monday, Nov. 11) — “This session will help attendees learn ways to communicate not just with trainees that they might have in their clinic, but also in teaching and empowering patients about their conditions,” said Dr. Kamen.