Plastic Surgery The Meeting is the biggest national plastic surgery conference annually. It's hosted by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, also the biggest national organization for plastic surgeons. It's a really fun meeting that I usually attend every year.
Unfortunately, COVID changed things and I haven't been to the meeting in a few years. So I'm really excited to be back at Plastic Surgery The Meeting this weekend in Boston!
This will also be my first time at the conference as an attending surgeon rather than as a trainee. Making it even more surreal is that now I have some of my residents and medical students from the University at Buffalo going with me to present some of our research.
With all of this in mind, I thought it would be fun to share what I've been up to over the past few days at the conference!
My Plastic Surgery The Meeting Agenda
You can take an inside peak at all of my sessions and talks here!
Virtual programming for medical students
Technically, one of my sessions already happened as the medical students' portion of the programming was made virtual this year to accommodate more attendees. My presentation for this virtual programming was on Managing Debt as a Medical Student and Resident.
This session was really well attended even though I sadly missed it due to an OR emergency.
Thankfully, Jesse Goldstein from Pitt was able to fill in and give the presentation for me!
I also moderated a session entitled, “Financial Literacy and Wellness: They Say Doctors Make Bad Business Decisions, But Not These Guys.” This was a ton of fun as financial advisor, Adrienne Upchurch, also contributed.
Thursday
I flew in early Thursday morning to Boston from Buffalo to make it in time for the Residents' Day programming.
This is a day completely for senior plastic surgery residents to help prepare them as they transition to becoming an attending.
This year my talk for the Senior Residents' Conference was on Principles of Personal Finance! My talk was based largely on this post!
After this, we had a reception for all of the senior residents which was a lot of fun.
Friday
This was a busy day!
8 AM – I moderated a Breast Reconstruction scientific abstract session
12P – I hung out at the Forme Financial booth. (You can catch our recent webinar with Forme on financial accelerators for physicians here.)
220P – One of our medical students, Brielle, presented on our research on the effect of COVID on microsurgery outcomes
430P – Attended the Forme Financial happy hour!
6P – Hung out with my old NYU colleagues at a reunion
Saturday
And Saturday was maybe even busier!
8 AM – Moderating another Breast Reconstruction scientific abstract session. One of our residents, Katheryn presented our data on factors influencing free flap surgery success with take backs.
9 AM – I attended the Leadership Development Committee meeting and the editorial board session for the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery – Global Open journal
10A – I moderated a last Breast Reconstruction scientific abstract session
12P – I attended the editorial board meeting for the Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery journal
1230P – I attended the Young Plastic Surgeons committee meeting
530P – Another reunion with plastic surgery friends
645P – Had dinner for all of our residents and medical students!
Sunday
On my last day, I just have one item on the agenda. This was to attend the Education Program meeting where we help plan the educational programming for the next year's meeting.
This is always one of my favorite committee meetings and this year I am focusing on the Practice Management sessions.
A great weekend at Plastic Surgery The Meeting
I really enjoyed myself this weekend at the conference learning, networking, catching up, and contributing.
Can't wait for next year!
In the meantime, here are some other posts about plastic surgery topics!
- Sorta Random Sunday: What Does A Plastic Surgeon Actually Do?
- Sorta Random Sunday: Basics of Breast Reconstruction
- Sorta Random Sunday: All About Reconstructive Microsurgery
- Sorta Random Sunday: March is Lymphedema Awareness Month!
What do you think? What was your last live conference? How did you enjoy it? What's the best part of these meetings? Let me know in the comments below!
