Why Should Face-to-Face Meetings Need to Resume?

Eric Santamaria

When was the last time you saw your colleagues and pals at a conference?

Do you remember the first time you heard in person at a meeting from the experts you learned from by reading their books and papers?

How long has it been since you had the opportunity to experience live scientific advances and the development of new instruments in your specialty?

These are just some of the reasons why face-to-face congresses should resume as soon as possible.

As of November 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world. Medical education has been significantly affected, surgical training has been blocked, and the learning curve flattened. Sanitary measures to prevent contagion, and to prioritize the lives of each one of us have restricted traveling, forcing us to postpone or cancel almost all our domestic and international congresses.

On the other hand, thanks to the development of telecommunications, webinars and virtual meetings have increased during these desperate times, making it possible to improve medical education, establishing a connection between education centers and experts that would not be possible without communication technology. The advantages of virtual learning tools have been previously acknowledged: the access to information is available across geographic barriers, teaching is delivered by experts from around the world, educators and learners alike demonstrate unprecedented flexibility; didactic lectures are frequently recorded to accommodate those unable to attend, and learning objectives are often clearly defined.[1] [2] [3] [4]

It is well known that Medical Associations must meet periodically in congresses. If we go to the Latin origin of the word Association, it means to unite people, collaborate on a specific topic, act. This activity cannot be performed exclusively in a virtual way, we would lose the human essence, we need to socialize, we need personal contact, and a life where we can relate.

We must take advantage of the momentum related to the development of virtuality to enhance scientific meetings, not to replace them. We must try to keep the events growing again in-person and at the same time, increase virtual attendance.

Hybrid events are already growing and are becoming more frequent, but we have always seen them as a “plus” to the face-to-face event, as a tool. In the transmission of knowledge, it is extremely difficult to use this medium for training, or even for the development of discussion tables with people who could not gather in the same physical place.

To resume face-to-face meetings, the topics of health and technology connection will be one of the most recurrent themes and will become one of the main ones when planning an event. This exchange of information will help the entire sector to speed up its reactivation. Those with the best management in this area will have a significant advantage over the others.

In addition to having a solid protocol about COVID-19 or other situations that may arise, the health response to any situation will be one of the most critical and well-planned issues to consider. Medical societies and government offices and entities must partner closely. To achieve this goal, vaccination and the health passport seem to be an inevitable reality as it is necessary to return to what we all want, to travel and socialize again, in short, meet again.

Finally, let's not forget the great opportunity that face-to-face congresses represent to meet mentors or masters. We all remember, when for the first time we had the experience of meeting in-person the teachers from whom we learned by reading their books and articles during the training. To be able to shake hands or take a picture together. These memories with role models surely impacted our future professional development. Not to mention having the chance to make lifelong friendships and international work ties, through social coexistence and activities that go beyond academics.

Another irreplaceable aspect of face-to-face congresses is being able to learn about the new products and technological advances of commercial sponsors, through live demonstrations or workshops.

No less important is the enormous opportunity that congresses give us to get to know other geographical destinations, their people, their culture, and gastronomy, among others. Traveling, you enjoy life more, broaden your horizons of knowledge and experiences. In short, you enrich the soul, and that is the essence of resuming face-to-face meetings.

Publication History

Article published online:
06 April 2022

• References

• 1 Santamaría E, Nahás-Combina L, Altamirano-Arcos C, Vargas-Flores E. Master series microsurgery for residents: results from a comprehensive survey of a multitudinous online course during COVID-19 pandemic. J Reconstr Microsurg 2021; 37 (07) 602-607
• 2 Santamaria E, Nahás-Combina L, Altamirano-Arcos C, Vargas-Flores E. Seven steps to deliver a low-cost, efficient, and high-impact online plastic surgery course during COVID-19 confinement: master series microsurgery for residents' experience. Arch Plast Surg 2021; 48 (04) 462-466
• 3 Abi-Rafeh J, Azzi AJ. Emerging role of online virtual teaching resources for medical student education in plastic surgery: COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 2020; 73 (08) 1575-1592
• 4 Kim YH. Academic exchange in the COVID-19 era. Arch Plast Surg 2020; 47 (04) 287-289