More rheumatology clinicians, researchers, health professionals, providers, vendors, and interest groups than ever before will gather in San Francisco this November for the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting.
But the Annual Meeting is not just the year’s top opportunity for education; it is also the year’s top opportunity to network.
“Practice a simple one- or two-line sentence to introduce yourself to people that you don’t know so that you have kind of a set introduction instead of rambling on about who, what, where, when, and why,” said Ron Olejko, Senior Director, Meeting Services. “And be approachable. If you see somebody standing by themselves looking lost, go up and talk to them. More often than not, people are just afraid to talk to people, and if you make the first effort, they’re so grateful.”
Below is a list of some of the top events:
OPENING LECTURE AND RECEPTION
Attendees will celebrate the start of the 2015 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting at the Opening Lecture and Awards and the Opening Reception on Saturday, Nov. 7.
The Opening Lecture features Daphne Koller, PhD, who will present Education at Scale: Beyond an Experiment. Dr. Koller will discuss how the massive open online courses (MOOCs) model can improve education by blending learning and the use of big data analytics. She will also describe the real and potential impact of providing unprecedented access to education to learners around the world.
The reception takes place from 6:30 – 8:00 pm in Moscone West and offers everybody the chance to reconnect with old friends and colleagues and make new acquaintances. Organizers have designed the event to foster conversation and networking, with food and drinks available and a 16-piece big band playing softly in the background to add to the relaxed feelings.
ANNUAL MEETING ORIENTATION SESSION
First-time attendees or anybody who feels they need to learn how to best navigate the ACR/ARHP educational offerings should attend the ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting Orientation Session from 7:30 – 8:30 am Sunday, Nov. 8.
The session will help those wanting to maximize their experience at the Annual Meeting.
ACR and ARHP past presidents will offer highlights and tips, as well as take questions from the audience.
The presenters will highlight many of the key educational and networking sessions and explain how to use tools such as the official session tracker and meeting app to navigate the meeting. They also will talk about SessionSelect, the service available to attendees that records most sessions for viewing after the meeting should you miss a session.
ARHP ROUNDTABLES
ARHP Discipline Roundtables: Networking Forum, formerly known as the Networking Forum, will bring ARHP members in the same field together at 12:30 pm Sunday, Nov. 8, to discuss important topics directly related to their disciplines.
Organizers will set up tables that reflect the diverse professional backgrounds of the ARHP membership. While at the roundtables, members can share notes and talk about the issues that shape their professional lives with colleagues in the same discipline.
ARHP Topic Roundtables: Networking Forum, formally known as Networking at Noon, highlights a specific rheumatology-related issue. Each table at the noon Monday, Nov. 9, event has an expert in the topic to serve as a facilitator for the discussion. Past topics have included enhancing patient adherence, social media and health care, insurance issues, injectable therapies, orthopedic therapies, and pain.
Both roundtables will have a limited number of complimentary box lunches available for participants.
ACR STUDY GROUPS
The ACR Study Groups have undergone a format change for 2015. This year, the sessions will last 60 minutes, with the majority of that time slotted for group discussion instead of a lecture or formal presentation.
Study groups bring together attendees with interest in the same topic. This year, between 20 and 30 study groups had their applications for a session approved. All of the sessions will take place from 1:00 – 2:00 pm Sunday, Nov. 8, to Tuesday, Nov. 10. The official program will have times and locations for each of the study groups.
CAREER FAIR
The third-annual Career Fair takes place from 6:00 – 8:00 pm Monday, Nov. 9, at the Marriott Marquis and will offer an environment for job seekers and employers to connect in a more comfortable manner than the typical job fair.
More than 25 employers exhibited at last year’s Career Fair. Organizers moved the fair to the middle of the meeting to make it easy for anybody who’s considering making a job change to participate. Even first- and second-year fellows can benefit by networking with different representatives about future opportunities and getting on the hiring radar at many different institutions.
Hors d’oeuvres and refreshments will be available throughout the evening.
Employers interesting in having a table at the event still have time to register. Contact HEALTHeCAREERS at [email protected] or (888) 884-8242 to reserve a spot.
ACR’s Career Connection offers job-placement services year-round. This service is free for job seekers, who upload their resumes and fill out a profile and receive email alerts that help match them to the right employers. For more information, visit http://www.rheumatology.org/career-connection.