By Pat Stricker, RN, MEd
Healthcare Consultant
Former SVP of TCS Healthcare Technologies
Are you ready to attend the CMSA 2021 Virtual Conference - “Staking a Claim in the New World”? It is coming in just two and a half weeks – June 7-10. Are you registered?
The theme this year focuses on making professionalism a career priority — highlighting professional development, continuing education, certification, outreach and support, the importance of mentoring, talent pipelines for nurses and social workers, cultural diversity among case management professionals, and demonstrating the value and sustainability of case management.
The conference starts on June 7th with a separate pre-conference day that includes specialized educational tracks: 10 hours of sessions for members of the military, Veterans Affairs, and Department of Defense; a 4-hour Chapter Leaders Workshop; a 1-hour session for first time attendees with a New Member Orientation; a 4-hour session on Motivational Interviewing; and a 2.5 hour session on Orchestrating Change, featuring a documentary movie about the world’s only orchestra for people living with mental illness and a live discussion with some of the orchestra members.
The actual conference itself is from June 8 -10. It will include all the activities you are used to having at an on-site conference: the CMSA annual meeting; a Chapter roll call and President’s Council meeting; CMSA awards; morning yoga, pilates, and mindfulness sessions; the Exhibitor’s EXPO Hall with giveaways; and a Poster Gallery.
And, of course, there will be educational offerings: 75 content hours with up to 58.5 hours of continuing education [p1] (CE) credits within those 3 days. These include 3 keynote speakers, over 50 concurrent sessions, and 3 corporate sponsored symposium sessions. You will also be able to get even more CEs than if you attended an on-site conference, because you will be able to attend the other concurrent sessions you would have missed by viewing them on-demand at your leisure from the comfort of your home. And they are available for another two and a half two and a half months after the virtual conference – until August 31st. This gives you an easy way to obtain the education credits you need for the year (or more) for a cost of about $8.11 per CE credit for members and $11.11 per non-members. Plus, there are no additional costs for travel, lodging, or food. Where else can you get specific, top-level case management educational content like this for such a low price?
Click HERE for the Conference Brochure which shows the 14 topic tracks, conference schedule, CE credits, registration rates, and Keynote Speaker information.
In addition to all the things you are accustomed to above, you will also be able to interact and network with other attendees in 12 planned networking sessions: Chapter leadership roles, continued conversations with speakers, and expanded education around track topics and member segments, plus an Opening Reception and a Cocktail Hour. (The last two may not be quite as much fun as being there in person, but you can certainly bring your own drink and join us in celebrating the event.)
If you love all the fun activities and free items you normally receive at an on-site conference, you’ll be happy to know that these will also be available at the virtual conference. They include games, giveaways, and prizes, as well as a chance to win a free registration to the 2022 conference! There will also be some other “unexpected” surprises.
KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
The main educational attractions at the conference are the three excellent Keynote Speakers planned for this conference, with one appearing each day.\
PLANNING FOR THE CONFERENCE
Instead of using your time packing and traveling to the conference, take some of the time you saved and use it to plan ahead for the conference. Don’t wait until the day of the conference to decide which sessions you want to attend. A little pre-planning now will make your experience even more rewarding and enjoyable. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Block out as much time as possible for the conference days, so you are not bothered by other meetings.
> However, if there are things you need to attend to, that is the nice part about a virtual conference – you should be able to attend the missed session by viewing it on-demand later. Most sessions will be available in on-demand, but a few may not be.
> Make sure to choose the session you most want while it is LIVE, if possible.
2. Review the Schedule and choose the sessions you plan on attending for each time slot.
> You can filter the sessions list by clicking the TYPE of session you want to see on the right side of the screen (Concurrent, Keynote, Poster or Sponsored Symposia) or select NETWORKING SESSIONS on the left side of the screen to see these sessions.
> Click the arrows to see more information about each session (presenters, abstract, and add to calendar). For Concurrent Sessions, click the arrows to show the list of sessions available in each time slot and the detailed information on each session.
> Click ADD TO CALENDAR to quickly add each session, if you set up your calendar information when registering.
3. When attending the sessions, work from different areas of your home to make it easier to stay focused. Staying in one place all day may be too limiting. Move from your office to the couch and then to a recliner and then outside on the patio. This will make your day more enjoyable.
4. Sitting all day is also difficult. Every 30 minutes or so, stand up, walk around the house, or bend and stretch. Take a walk outside during a break or at lunch.
5. Try to stay focused on the sessions, as if you were physically there.
> Consider this “out of office” time and turn off email and messaging and send calls to voicemail. Catch up on these during a break or between sessions.
> Watch the sessions in full screen mode to make it more interesting.
6. Take written notes instead of typing them in WORD or on another screen. Switching from screen to screen will cause you to miss parts of the presentation.
7. Connect with other attendees whenever possible. This will help make the experience more tangible and rewarding.
> Attend after-session conversations with speakers, whenever offered. You may gain a lot of additional information about the topic from the questions and answers.
> Participate in Networking Session and Roundtable Discussions whenever possible. This is a good way to meet friends and associates or new people who may become future friends and collaborators.
> Use Chat and Social Media during a session or immediately afterwards.
> Schedule time with others you know who are also attending the conference. You can set up separate FaceTime or Zoom call with them to discuss sessions, clarify information, or ask questions.
> Participate in the Exhibitors’ EXPO. This is always a fun place to be at an on-site conference, so it should be the same in a virtual conference. You can meet with multiple vendors to get your questions answered and in some ways, it is easier than being there in person. The EXPO is also available 24 hours a day, so it will be there whenever you have time to visit. Leave a message for exhibitors during off hours and they will be able to easily get back to you or simply drop your virtual business card in the booth.
* Remember, there are going to be prizes given away here and a lot of fun activities.
> Attend the Opening Reception and the Cocktail Hour. These are always fun when on-site and will be so in the virtual conference as well. You will have to bring your own drink, but it should be a great experience and enjoyable way to communicate with others.
8. After the conference, catch up on the sessions you missed by using on-demand. Remember, they will be available through August 31st, but don’t wait until the end to review them.
You are now ready to relax and enjoy your Virtual Conference. Have fun!
For those of you who have not registered yet – what are you waiting for? As you can see, you will be missing out on a wonderful way to enjoy all the aspects of the conference in a relaxed home environment. Don’t wait any longer. This is a great opportunity to get a great education at a great cost. And it will give you the chance to reassess and realign your professional goals.
If you are still not convinced that a virtual conference is for you, I urge you to read last month’s newsletter article, “CMSA Virtual Conference: Why It Makes Sense” for the pros (and cons) of virtual conferences and how CMSA is staking its claim in this new frontier. If you have not attended a virtual conference, you have to do it at least once to see how you like it. It is a different, but yet a very rewarding and enjoyable experience. I’m sure you may find this to be an even better way to gain the educational advantages of a conference, while not having the cost of travel, lodging and food or having to spend as much time away from work and family. It’s actually the best of both worlds.
Don’t wait any longer! Give it a try!
