Inevitably, though, some clinicians may not have been able to attend due to scheduling conflicts, and those who attended needed to prioritize engagement among the many simultaneous sessions offered. The good news is that the ACS has helped ensure that you don’t have to miss any of the important content. A significant number of impressive scientific program sessions is available through Clinical Congress 2023 On Demand, as well as through other new and enduring educational opportunities.
A Wealth of Relevant Content
Available through May 1, the Clinical Congress 2023 on-demand platform provides a treasure trove of on-demand content that covers a wide selection of clinical and nonclinical topics. Access was included with registration for both in-person and virtual attendees, as well as for individuals who purchase new virtual registration.
The convenience of on-demand access to nearly 100 Panel Sessions, 11 Named Lectures, three Special Sessions, Poster Hall, and a Video Hall—at any time—means this is the most flexible way to take part in Clinical Congress. By using granular filters on the on-demand platform, it is possible to customize the content to specifications.
For example, you can find the latest updates on hernia repair and gallbladder disease management by entering the meeting portal, searching for “inguinal hernia” or “cholecystectomy,” and filtering by the “on demand” modality. There you’ll find the inaugural "Great Debates" session, where you can learn about different treatment paradigms for common general surgery conditions.
If the surgical and nonsurgical treatment of appendicitis is a concern in your practice—search for “appendectomy” on demand, and the popular "Appendicitis: Antibiotics or Surgery? When and Why?" Panel Session will be available to view at any time.
The nonclinical content of Clinical Congress 2023 provides an important look at topics that span all surgical disciplines. The Academy of Master Surgeon Educators Special Session, for example, examined the acquisition of new skills, learning new procedures, and incorporation of new technologies into a surgical practice—a topic relevant to all surgeons, from surgical trainees to experienced surgeon leaders.
Other broadly interesting nonclinical sessions included the Special Sessions on firearm injury prevention and the ACS Power of Quality campaign, the Ethics Colloquium, a panel discussing the shifting surgical workplace culture, surgeon safety in the workplace, and much more.
Whether you have previously registered and attended in-person or virtually, or registered virtually after the conference, the ability to repeatedly view, pause, and replay sessions and sections of interest will help you acquire and retain valuable information.
Convenient Resource for Regulatory Requirements
This wealth of educational materials can have an immediate impact on your practice and your professional work. Clinical Congress 2023 On Demand also represents an extraordinary means for meeting regulatory requirements.
For virtual and on-demand attendees, 182 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ are available, and 201.5 credits are available for in-person attendees who also can take advantage of the on-demand platform. All attendees can claim credit up to the May 1 deadline.
In addition, select content can be applied as Credit to Address State Regulatory Mandates and Credit to Address ACS Accreditation and Verification Requirements.
Even now, Clinical Congress 2023 remains an unbeatable value for your professional requirements and development.
Expanding Popular Sessions through Interactive Webinars
Although May 1 is the deadline to claim credit and access the content through the on-demand platform, you’ll still have exciting opportunities to access valuable sessions from Clinical Congress 2023 throughout the spring and summer.
The ACS is offering two new webinar series that extend and augment the most popular Panel Sessions and Video-Based Education sessions.
The first webinar series—to be launched this spring—will have three programs. The first program will be based on the very popular Panel Session, "Diverticulitis: The Widening Gap between Data and Practice," and will include a two-part model.
The first part will include access to the on-demand recording of the original session. Individuals who have previously registered for Clinical Congress 2023 will be able to view the session through the on-demand meeting platform, and individuals who have not registered for Clinical Congress will be able to purchase access to this individual recording.
The second and most exciting part will be the interactive live webinar. The original session moderators and panelists, as well as new content-area experts, will engage participants on the topic of the session, provide updates and new data that have been gathered since October, and answer questions from the audience. In this format, the most popular clinical sessions from the conference will be made available for access throughout the year, with extended opportunities to claim continuing medical education.
In addition, six Video-Based Education sessions from Clinical Congress 2023 will be offered through a webinar series. These will be presented via Zoom and are anticipated to include the original moderators and authors of that session to answer questions from the audience.
Although both webinar series are based on Clinical Congress 2023 content, they offer enhanced, interactive experiences.
Exciting Changes for Clinical Congress 2024
Certainly, there remains much to gain from Clinical Congress 2023. But looking ahead to this October in San Francisco, California, we are excited to touch on some of the changes coming for Clinical Congress 2024.
A major change will be to the conference schedule. The ACS has listened to the requests from our busy surgeons and shifted the format for Clinical Congress 2024 to a Saturday-to-Tuesday meeting, October 19–22—meaning you’ll have less time away from your practice and your patients if you attend the entire event.
And for those who will need to head home before the end of the Congress, they can look forward to additional thematic and specialty content included in the conference’s first 2 days. Thematic tracks on education and quality, in addition to specialty sessions on cardiothoracic surgery, vascular surgery, neurosurgery, and more will be available on Sunday and Monday.
In addition, there will be an even greater emphasis on multidisciplinary panels that surgeons from many fields can look forward to, such as a session on fistula of interest to gastrointestinal surgeons, urologists, and obstetric and gynecologic surgeons; a session on trauma of the head and orbit for ENTs, oral maxillofacial surgeons, neurologists, ophthalmologists, and trauma surgeons; and several more. With these sessions, the ACS will emphasize its role as the true House of Surgery, relevant to surgeons in all disciplines.
There will be much more to come regarding Clinical Congress 2024 in the months ahead, and we look forward to sharing the developments with you. But before this year’s conference, we encourage all surgeons and surgical team members to take advantage of the enduring value of Clinical Congress 2023 through the on-demand platform by May 1 and the ongoing webinars throughout the year. We know you will find much to learn and enjoy.
