The value of engaging participants and enhancing interaction through interactive educational programs

Professional Congress Organizers who invest in quality and understand the value of high-end education have showcased their adaptiveness and active response to the needs of the Scientific & Science Community. Continuing Medical Education as a key element and tool to a multi-level network of education, professional as well as personal development is identified as top priority in future strategies focusing on the design of customized scientific meetings, offering a strong element on interaction and engagement.

PCOs can offer all available resources to accommodate such needs and especially in the field of Surgery, a variety of interactive and engaging educational sessions can provide young HCPs the opportunity to be educated quickly and efficiently in new trends and techniques. This form of scientific education has shown an increase in and demand in the last few years and can reach even higher levels with the support of event organizers, in collaboration with scientific & research institutions.

Research has found that interactive sessions and hands-on exercises are particularly effective in engaging participants, young scientists and students and in enhancing their learning experience. The inclusion of practical stations with surgical simulators, models, or cadavers allows young surgeons to practice the newly learned techniques under the supervision of an experienced faculty. This active participation and realtime feedback contributes to the development of their surgical skills.

An example of a leader in the field of continuing medical education and interactive knowledge of surgery, providing an innovative service, is NoDE Institute, based in Athens, Greece.

Τoday, at a time when developments in medicine, especially in surgery, are progressing rapidly, NoDE offers opportunities for continuous education and training in state-of-the-art know-how, so that both doctors and patients have access to the latest medical developments and benefits of specialized surgical expertise in Greece and beyond. NoDE is the only non-profit educational organization in Greece to systematically offer labs for hands-on surgical workshops using fresh cadaveric models for surgery. AFEA proudly supports NoDE in the organizational element of all its activities, via a long-term partnership.

Education is an unending process exploring new possibilities. Lifelong learning and continuous easy-access training in advanced applications and cutting-edge methodologies allows NoDE to stay abreast of medical advances and offer the best possible care to patients.

The digital reality and remote access to new knowledge have changed the balances in high-end education and it really takes serious discipline to sit still and give ear to what someone has to say.

It is important to make the task of listening and learning easier for the audience by actively engaging with them, which can be achieved through the new forms of interactive educational sessions presented in this article.

There are a variety of elements which can be implemented in these training models that can achieve audience interaction, participation and engagement, such as training on next generation virtual reality systems, live surgeries, training programs, continuing medical education, advanced cadaveric courses, observerships, hands on courses in collaboration with experimental research centers, interactive talks, as well as live cases observations. All the above are very efficiently implemented by NoDE institute.

Especially in the case of hands-on workshops, experience has shown that they intend to have positive effects on the engagement and effective learning for young surgeons.

Meeting Planners should never stop exploring new methods of attracting the attention of attendees, when it comes to designing and delivering upscale education in collaboration with their clients, organizations, and Institutions.

In our efforts to shape the future of meetings, we should shift our attention to new forms of educational meetings, adapting to practical, interactive training, empowering engagement and interaction of participants, especially when it comes to young professionals. The global Meetings Industry, and especially the IAPCO Community, can offer the expertise, quality, commitment, and professional support to this direction.

Sissi Lygnou, CEO, AFEA

Martha Kornarou, Senior Project Manager, AFEA

Elena Fifi, Digital Marketing Specialist, AFEA

The NoDE Institute, Greece