Best Conferences & Courses

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
CutsWithFury

CutsWithFury

Membership Revoked
Removed
Verified Member
2+ Year Member
Podiatrist
Joined
Feb 2, 2019
Messages
0
Reaction score
-15
Points
0
  1. Podiatrist
Members do not see this ad.
What are some of the best conferences and courses you have ever been to? What are some conferences you are thinking about attending? I will go first.

Best courses you have attended:

1) Arthrex MIS course
2) Orthofix Flaps and Frames
3) St. Louis Foot and Ankle Arthroscopy

Best conferences you have attended:

1) CLESS
2) SLESS
3) ACFAS - Austin & Nashville

Conferences on your radar that you are interested in:

1) IFAF - Alaska cruise 2023
2) IFAF - Maui 2023
 
Great topic.

Also, make sure to read the fine print for CME reimbursement as many institutions will not reimburse courses that are on a cruise.
 
Gonna try IFAF - Tahoe in February. Not a fan of the Thursday schedule but I’ll use it as a recovery day I guess.
 
Pronation said:
Great topic.

Also, make sure to read the fine print for CME reimbursement as many institutions will not reimburse courses that are on a cruise.
Click to expand...
Are you going to start your own course in Total Toenail Replacement? Maybe have it at the Days Inn in Gary Indiana.
 
CLESS is good but not very science driven. Lot of anecdotal stuff. Hope as the field moves forward this conference evolves into a more evidence based discussion. Good cadaver workshop

Same is true for lot of industry sponsored courses. Anecdotal stuff.

ACFAS is still solid if you are looking for evidence based conference. They definitely have issues but I don't think there is a better conference for podiatry

I want to go to IFAF just because of great locations.
 
Feeter said:
CLESS is good but not very science driven. Lot of anecdotal stuff. Hope as the field moves forward this conference evolves into a more evidence based discussion. Good cadaver workshop

Same is true for lot of industry sponsored courses. Anecdotal stuff.

ACFAS is still solid if you are looking for evidence based conference. They definitely have issues but I don't think there is a better conference for podiatry

I want to go to IFAF just because of great locations.
Click to expand...
Surgery in general is hard to do quality research though... I mean we still can't agree on the plantar plate, dorsal vs. plantar approach 'till this date...
I found the surgical techniques and case presentations more valuable for my practice. And the speakers usually make more of a difference than the conference itself. I tend to go to the ones when they feature Mark Myerson. Learned a ton from that guy.
 
Omg I can't believe WoundCon is a real thing hahaha that name is hilarious
 
Sweatshirt said:
Omg I can't believe WoundCon is a real thing hahaha that name is hilarious
Click to expand...

What name would you recommend instead? Scab Pickers Anonymous?
 
I’m stoked for DermFoot (yes, I’m one of those type pods)! The dermatoscope has a learning curve but very versatile.
 
Another wonderful dermatology-filled CME conf. is the Council for Nail Disorder’s yearly meeting. Pretty big names in the derm field (worldwide - Nat Jellinek, Baran, Tosti, etc.) lecture on nail surgery techniques, autoimmune conditions, tumors, etc. Onychomycosis is an afterthought... what is lectured is just plain good medicine.
 
Best Courses:
Orthofix Charcot and Deformity Correction Course
Stryker MIS
ACFAS Arthroscopy

Best Conferences:
Diabetic Limb Salvage (DC)
ACFAS Austin

I'm interested in the IFAF Sonoma course (wife and I enjoy wine tasting) and also there are some European and Asian conferences that I'd like to attend, hopefully as a speaker in the future so I can go for free, haha.
 
Best courses:
residency? (acfas scope, AO, etc)
youtube?

Best conferences:
Acfas national
PI seminars (good locations but still very good info)
GTEF (I do these as the party ones that still have decent scientific info... I'm sure IFAF are similar)
Acfas regionals

Upcoming:
PI Sanibel (if they rebuild from hurricane in time)
ACFAS '23
PI Phoenix '23
 
dtrack22 said:
Gonna try IFAF - Tahoe in February. Not a fan of the Thursday schedule but I’ll use it as a recovery day I guess.
Click to expand...
I did that one once. It was 60 f-ing Fahrenheit degrees that weekend. The sun broiled my a$$ and instead of Cascade concrete we had boilerplate conditions. At least the drive to/from was nice.

Edit: I'd go again
 
Last edited:
Rule of thumb: The academic quality of a conference is inversely proportional to the desirability of the conference location.

The lectures at the Big Sky resort conference years ago were largely forgettable (except for a cool lesser metatarsal procedure that Rich Bouche taught us) but damn, ski in/ski out of Summit Lodge was dope AF.
 
NatCh said:
Rule of thumb: The academic quality of a conference is inversely proportional to the desirability of the conference location.

The lectures at the Big Sky resort conference years ago were largely forgettable (except for a cool lesser metatarsal procedure that Rich Bouche taught us) but damn, ski in/ski out of Summit Lodge was dope AF.
Click to expand...
Sir, I fully expect to obtain the finest review of the literature, exhaustive tips/pearls of the latest surgical innovations, and a strict adherence to the time/schedule while in Kauai.
 
air bud said:
Sir, I fully expect to obtain the finest review of the literature, exhaustive tips/pearls of the latest surgical innovations, and a strict adherence to the time/schedule while in Kauai.
Click to expand...
Oh, most definitely.

Conference attendees at the 2007 meeting:

1666113876351.png


1666113824740.png
 
Ya'll inspired me and I'm thinking heavily about going to this Alaskan cruise IFAF conference next year. I had no idea I could have fun while I skip lectures and get CME credits for it.
 
Boba Foot said:
Ya'll inspired me and I'm thinking heavily about going to this Alaskan cruise IFAF conference next year. I had no idea I could have fun while I skip lectures and get CME credits for it.
Click to expand...

Who skips the lectures? Not me. 😗
 
Hey, so when you guys go to conferences and you’re walking around the hotel and general vicinity of the hotel do you also play Guess Who Else Is A Podiatrist?

Hokas ✅
Hip pack ✅
Altras ✅
Polo shirt ✅
Rockports ✅
 
Just got home from the AAPSM meeting in Seattle. You know what I like the most about conferences? I like how it fills my metaphorical gas tank. Taking a step back to reflect on how I do things versus someone else's approach is really helpful. Meeting colleagues from around the country and comparing notes in a candid fashion is wonderful. You really don't get that benefit from online CME.
 
Anyone done the PI cadaver courses? Worth the money?
 
AttackNME said:
I haven’t gone to ACFAS in a few years, are the lectures same every year really? Thought about going this next one but maybe not..
Click to expand...
THey change a little but a lot of the same stuff/people. There really is only so many topics in foot and ankle and hard not to recycle info. Not a ton of ground breaking research comes out in a year/every year. Especially not enough to fill 3-4 days lectures.
 
DYK343 said:
THey change a little but a lot of the same stuff/people. There really is only so many topics in foot and ankle and hard not to recycle info. Not a ton of ground breaking research comes out in a year/every year. Especially not enough to fill 3-4 days lectures.
Click to expand...

I will be most happy when lecturers stop mentioning barefoot running. No one is doing that any more. Well, maybe one guy but he doesn't trust doctors enough to seek medical help, so...
 
I need to check out that IFAF in Hawaii....need to go to some better locations so I can take my wife on some of these CME conferences....
 
AttackNME said:
I haven’t gone to ACFAS in a few years, are the lectures same every year really? Thought about going this next one but maybe not..
Click to expand...
The 'advanced' stuff is just the basics done properly... and often with many residents/fellows to assist and round and take call.

I went to ACFAS much more when I was studying for written boards and got the student/resident rates. I still like their stuff and PI the best when I do live conf. I pay a bit better attention at live meetings, but it's often not practical or affordable or needed.

It's very good stuff from ACFAS annual meeting overall, but after awhile, I usually know what they are going to say and procedure picks on case discussions (that's a good thing). It never hurts to reinforce and stay up on standards of care or new procedures, but things usually change slooow and the anatomy is constant. I don't think there are any truly significant changes since I came out of training 10yrs ago (maybe MIS, fibula nails, ex-fix use has greatly decreased, various niche surgery and wound wizard products, weightbear CTs, more TAR models have come and failed yet more come, etc... but debatable if any of those are even optimal or necessary). Lock plates and the re-popularization of Lapidus were big, but those were while I was in school/residency.

Out in practice, the hard part for me is just doing 3-4days lectures plus travel days when you have office pts that'll pile up and missed income. If you're a hospital FTE with CME days and monies to burn vs lose it, they yeah... of course. For most ppl in PP owner or % paid, you can do ACFAS OnDemand if you want the same lectures and CME hours without the travel time or expense... just use the xtra days and $ saved to take the better half on a real pleasure vaca?

11889416_10153660126963534_6572104465881290336_n.jpg
 
Feli said:
Out in practice, the hard part for me is just doing 3-4days lectures plus travel days when you have office pts that'll pile up and missed income.
Click to expand...

I look forward to in-person conferences. Getting together with colleagues and old friends is rejuvenating so I don’t turn into Dr. Fury. To me it’s money well spent.
 
NatCh said:
I look forward to in-person conferences. Getting together with colleagues and old friends is rejuvenating so I don’t turn into Dr. Fury. To me it’s money well spent.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but you have office partners so you're not 15 miles behind when you get back. I'm jelly. 😛
 
NatCh said:
I look forward to in-person conferences. Getting together with colleagues and old friends is rejuvenating so I don’t turn into Dr. Fury. To me it’s money well spent.
Click to expand...

So I’ll see you this fall at the coast?

Fingers crossed…
 
Which conference? I’ll be at the PI Park City conference in a couple of weeks.
 
dtrack22 said:
State conference. It’s in Newport. Maybe I should have gone to park city instead of Tahoe. That’s next month.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah, I’m not going to the state conference. I went to Tahoe once and I liked it. They’re getting nuked with snow right now so you might get the goods.

I’m staring at Bachy through the window of my gym right now.

9671F6E7-4063-48A1-9E00-488D625F300D.jpeg


44EA468B-E983-4B3A-A265-F8851A4945C3.jpeg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Bluecollarmed
CME logging/tracking
Replies
10
Views
1K
GreenHousePub
GreenHousePub
podiatryresident
ACFAS training courses
Replies
5
Views
2K
hematosis
H
Hybrocure
Favorite CME conference?
Replies
27
Views
3K
Hybrocure
Hybrocure
M
Best EMR for podiatry practice
Replies
6
Views
422
DYK343
D
Santyl Claus
Making the best of a limited scope clinic?
Replies
39
Views
3K
iridocyclitiss
iridocyclitiss
Top Bottom