Confrences

[heeltoe]

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Do any students go to any of the conferences?

I keep getting notified of various conferences around the country as I am sure all students do. Do any of you go to them? Is it worth going if I am just a student? They seem like they would be useful as a resident or even perhaps as a 4th year. It seems like a great networking opportunity for residents or 4th years. I also wonder if most of the topics covered at typical conferences would be above my head?

 

[Feli]

I attended a lot of conferences as a student and spent a fair amount of my own personal time and $ to travel and attend various meetings (ACFAS meetings, Podiatry Institute conferences, West Penn Symposium, local Miami lectures, etc)... and I would certainly do it again without question. I actually decided to pass up East CRIPS a couple months ago so that I could use that $ to attend the 2009 ACFAS Annual Scientific Meeting instead... the 2008 ACFAS meeting (my first) was so informative and inspiring that it was the right decision IMO.

I'd say good meetings with top speakers are the best way to see what's possible for those who get good training, help you to stay current on standard of care, show you some of the best current literature, learn who's who in our specialty, etc. As a student (and resident), you get discounted conference and seminar rates (sometimes free admission) that will probably never be offered to you once you are a practicing DPM. As soon as you have a decent grasp of basic F&A pathology and surgery (about mid-3rd year knowledge at most schools), I'd suggest going to as many different conferences as you can. Yes, some of it wil be a bit over your head if you are a 3rd year, but that's how you expand your horizons: take note of the journal articles that speakers mention in their PowerPoint so that you have new topics to learn about. I think what you will learn at the meetings and the networking you can do is defintely worth whatever you'll spend on travel.

 

[Gryhu]

I'm not a pod student yet but I attended the NY pod conference recently and it was awesome! Sure I might have not understood the intricacies of plantar fasciitis, lol, but it was a good experience. As Feli mentioned, its good to know where the profession is going and some of the new standards in care.

Plus, I went for free. Can't beat free!

 

[JEWmongous]

I'm not a pod student yet but I attended the NY pod conference recently and it was awesome! Sure I might have not understood the intricacies of plantar fasciitis, lol, but it was a good experience. As Feli mentioned, its good to know where the profession is going and some of the new standards in care.

Plus, I went for free. Can't beat free!

I went with Bahaa...it was a very good experience and we even met the local pod with both shadow.

You gotta spell it right before you attend though, conference 😉