MedEd

This time last year we were reflecting on the light at the end of the tunnel, with a vaccine being rolled out that would help fight COVID-19. The global situation has certainly improved since then but, unfortunately, we aren’t quite out the other side just yet. 2021 repeatedly threw challenges our way and businesses were forced to continue to adapt and evolve in order to survive. As an online education provider we were in a very fortunate position, and we’ve successfully run hundreds of online meetings over the past 12 months.

The Corpus are delighted to again be recognised for our dedicated online medical education services. The judges at the Global Health & Pharma magazine have awarded The Corpus with an award for the Most Innovative Medical Virtual Meeting Platform in 2021.

The Corpus recently ran a poll where we asked the LinkedIn community about their experiences with online networking during the pandemic. The result was unequivocal: 90% said their experience of networking virtually left something (or, in some cases, much) to be desired when compared to pre-pandemic, in-person networking meetings.

Unbelievably, it was over 30 years ago that Dr. James Hansen, then director of NASA’s Institute for Space Studies, first said to a Committee: “In my opinion, the greenhouse effect has been detected, and it is changing our climate now.”

Satellite symposia are an integral part of modern medical conferences, providing healthcare professionals with vital opportunities to take part in small group discussions specifically designed to meet their continuing medical education needs. They are a chance for physicians to meet and hear from other professionals in their therapy area including, if they are lucky, a renowned national or international KOL in the field.

Many public healthcare systems are based around a ‘sick care’ model where people seek and receive treatment when they fall ill. With many countries grappling a growing and ageing population (1), there is an increasing overall burden on healthcare systems per capita. One way of managing the growing demands on healthcare systems is a refocusing of resources and treatment towards a ‘preventative care’ model. In such a model, people are treated earlier, before they become ill, and they are assisted in maintaining healthy, active lifestyles.

The use of AI to aid diagnosis has been heralded increasingly often as an imminent evolution in the world of gastroenterology (1, 2). Thanks to an Italian study, in April the FDA has approved for the first time a tool for colonoscopy that helps doctors detect suspicious lesions in real time whilst performing the examination (3, 4).

Attending medical conferences is a great way for healthcare professionals to learn about the latest advances in therapies and treatments for diseases in their chosen area. Not only can Specialists listen to lectures delivered by world-renowned Key Opinion Leaders, with whom they may not normally come into contact, but they can speak directly to exhibitors, listen to abstracts, read posters, attend workshops… the benefits go on. However, attendance at these events comes at a price, both literally and figuratively.

Preceptorship meetings are a fantastic way for newly qualified healthcare professionals to build on the education they received during formal training and continue the learning process. They help smooth the transition from student to Specialist and build confidence in being able to work autonomously – all of which leads to increased quality of care and patient satisfaction.

Owing to social restrictions still in place in the continued effort to halt the COVID-19 pandemic, the next ESMO Breast Cancer Congress 2021 (5-8 May 2021) is due to take place in a fully virtual environment.