What should you expect from attending a conference?

It’s getting harder and harder to attend professional development conferences around the country or even within your own state. You may need to convince your physicians or health system leaders of the value of attending these types of conferences. 

I frequently remind managers and administrators of the importance of getting out of the office to learn best practices and hear how their peers handle similar situations. Not only do these conferences feature speakers who know a great deal about emerging trends; we can also learn a lot from other conference attendees. I’m sure that if you asked a room filled with 50 or more people how they handle your most pressing concern, you will get many good ideas that will help you in your practice.

Here are some personal and professional goals that can help you get the most out of your next conference:

• Set a goal of learning about two or three practices or strategies that you can bring back to your organization and implement. You may find 10 or more good ideas but the likelihood that you can implement more than two or three is probably low.
• Learn about best practices regarding some of your most pressing challenges and bring this information back to your physicians for a more informative discussion.  Sharing examples of how other organizations solve your most pressing challenges can help you get out of the box.
• Plan on meeting one or two peers with whom you can remain in contact to network and solve problems.
• Meet at least one vendor who has a product or service that you currently use or are thinking about using.
• Attend at least one conference-sponsored social event to build your network.
• And finally, try to eat something other than chicken.

Contact Nick at nfabrizio@mgma.com.

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