ACP goes to Boston to tackle topics new and old
ACP's Internal Medicine Meeting 2024 will kick off with a look at artificial intelligence and its impact on medicine, as well as developments in new technology throughout the field.
Internal Medicine Meeting 2024 will kick off with a look at the future. Noted author Eric Topol, MD, MACP, is slated to give the opening keynote address, "How A.I. Will Change Medicine," on Thursday, April 18.
Dr. Topol, professor and executive vice president of Scripps Research in La Jolla, Calif., will discuss the potential of artificial intelligence to transform care and restore more time to clinicians.
The Boston meeting will continue the focus on new developments in technology throughout, noted Ann R. Garment, MD, FACP, Chair of the Scientific Program Committee for this year's meeting. "We're going to see these themes through a lot of the talks throughout the conference, while making sure to still have some of those standards that people are looking for to keep their practice updated and grounded," she said.
Returning standards include two days of in-person precourses on April 16 and 17. There's a new addition to the list this year, though: a precourse titled "Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine for Internal Medicine Physicians."
Inspired by the pressing need to improve the geriatric and palliative care skills of all internal medicine physicians as the U.S. population ages, a panel of expert faculty will provide practical, evidence-based strategies to better identify and treat serious and chronic conditions common to older patients during an all-day session on Tuesday.
The full scientific session, with its many and varied offerings, starts Thursday at 7 a.m. "Folks will be happy to see beloved standards like Multiple Small Feedings of the Mind, Clinical Pearls, and Updates," said Dr. Garment, who is a clinical associate professor at New York University.
This year's meeting also premieres a new category: Case-Based Learning. These sessions will use case scenarios and real-world clinical examples to provide education about topics including contraception, medication abortion, HIV, depression, orthopedics, and more.
There will also be opportunities to look back during the meeting. A special session focused on neurology will honor the late Martin A. Samuels, MD, MACP, who shared his expertise and his passion for teaching with ACP for more than 40 years. Ralph F. Jozefowicz, MD, FACP, will lecture on the five-minute neurological exam on Friday, April 19, at 2:45 p.m. Dr. Jozefowicz is a professor of neurology at the University of Rochester in New York.
Dr. Garment will host a look back at the very recent past, a closing session on key take-home messages from Internal Medicine Meeting 2024. On Saturday at 5:15 p.m., three outstanding clinician-educators will share their top lessons learned, immediately followed by the excitement of the final round of the Doctor's Dilemma® competition.
These are only some of the returning favorite sessions that attendees have to look forward to, noted David Disbrow, ACP's Director of Instructional Design and Events. "Judging from this year's scientific program list of faculty, the content promises to be truly excellent," he said.
The Clinical Skills Center will of course return and offer ever-popular experiences like Cardiac Diagnosis with Harvey, the Cardiopulmonary Patient Simulator, and Toenail Removal, as well as the new "The Patient Will Be YOU Now," an innovative form of role-reversal simulation training. (To be sure to get a spot in these hands-on activities, book a ticket in advance. Registration and other information are online.)
The meeting will once again be held in a hybrid format, Mr. Disbrow noted. For standard attendees, registration includes access to over 195 recorded sessions for 30 days after the meeting. Attendees who register at the premium level can watch the sessions any time during the following year.
Virtual meeting attendees can expect at least 100 livestreamed sessions, during which they can participate in polls and ask questions via the ACP Meetings app, which is available in iOS and Android formats and will have Internal Medicine Meeting 2024 content starting in mid-March.
"That said, there are so many reasons to really experience the meeting in person, from the hands-on sessions, new case-based workshops, more precourses, to the invaluable benefit of being there in the room with colleagues," said Mr. Disbrow.
Dr. Garment seconded that sentiment. "Ever since COVID, I've really appreciated going to ACP in a different way. Having that opportunity to see my colleagues in person, not just the ones who I see on a day-to-day basis at work, but the ones who I may have lost contact with from training or other institutions, really makes you feel like part of a larger community and is the 'anti-burnout,'" she said.
