The Annual Meeting, which will be held at Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center from March19–23, 2013, will feature a broad range of carefully selected educational programming, including the following:

• 28 symposia on timely, cutting-edge topics
• 825 paper presentations and 580 posters on recent scientific and clinical studies
• 217 instructional courses led by experts
• 88 scientific exhibits on extended studies or complex procedures, and more than 550 technical exhibits

On Saturday, March 23, Specialty Day programming offered by 14 specialty societies will provide unique programming in specialty areas.

A great start on Tuesday
According to Dr. Price, attendees who arrive at the Annual Meeting on Tuesday will find many worthwhile learning opportunities.

“On Tuesday, there will be plenty of educational offerings all day, including instructional courses, symposia, practice management sessions, posters, scientific exhibits, and more,” he said. “Scientific paper sessions will begin on Tuesday, so there are plenty of opportunities to earn continuing medical education (CME) credits for those who register and attend the meeting from the first day.”

New this year is a special session for community orthopaedists to update their knowledge of accepted practices in treating common conditions.

“Some of the many topics addressed in this session will include adult reconstruction, both for hip and knee, as well as trauma, shoulder and elbow, and more,” explained Dr. Price. In addition, the session will offer vital information about topics such as the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery’s (ABOS) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process, as well as AAOS resources, such as media training and other membership benefits.

Another highlight, said Dr. Price, will be the newly expanded review course program presented on Tuesday that will assist those who need general review or are preparing for MOC.

“The five review courses will concentrate on sports medicine, hand and wrist, trauma, shoulder and elbow, and spine,” said Dr. Price, “and will be followed by a special primer on MOC.”

A “full spectrum” of education
The 2013 Annual Meeting will offer the same kinds of exceptional programming attendees have come to expect. In addition to offerings in specialty areas, said Dr. Price, many symposia will cover topics of general interest, such as healthcare advocacy, practice management, and athletics-induced mild traumatic (concussion) and catastrophic brain injury.

Dr. Price also pointed out that the “ABOS will be on site to explain the MOC process and answer questions one-on-one,” and that “Ask an Expert” sessions will be held in the Exhibit Hall, Wednesday through Friday.

“Ask an Expert” provides an interactive opportunity for attendees to present a perplexing case to an expert in orthopaedics,” said Dr. Price. Attendees are invited to bring their case challenges and present them for diagnosis and recommendation. Audience participation will be encouraged to complement the exchange of ideas.

Other meeting highlights include the Ceremonial Meeting on Thursday, when the Diversity, Humanitarian, and Tipton Leadership Awards will be presented; the presidential guest speaker’s address; and the incoming president’s address.

Dr. Price also recommends attending the “Best of AAOS” session on Friday, which will highlight the best papers and posters presented at the 2013 Annual Meeting, as chosen by members of the AAOS Program Committee.

“Due to the popularity of the Guided Poster Tours, which provide a unique opportunity for attendees to ask questions and learn more about posters while earning CME credits, we are expanding them to provide more tours throughout the meeting,” he added.

Another not-to-be-missed event will be “Breakfast in the Posters” on Friday morning, which will feature a free continental breakfast and the Poster Awards ceremony.

“For the first time, we will hold a ceremony to honor the winners of the best poster in each classification, as well as the winner of the overall best poster, and will give the winners the opportunity to make a presentation,” noted Dr. Price.

Take advantage of technology
According to Dr. Price, Annual Meeting attendees will find that technology will have an even greater presence in Chicago than in previous years. He encouraged attendees to visit the Electronic Skills Pavilion, which showcases current technology and products.

“The Electronic Skills Pavilion is very popular,” said Dr. Price. “It teaches registrants how to make better use of their smart phones, presentation software, mobile apps, and many other digital tools that are important in today’s world.”

Dr. Price also noted that the “My Itinerary” tool, which enables users to build an itinerary of desired Annual Meeting presentations and personal events, can be accessed on the AAOS website by visiting www.aaos.org/annual and selecting “Participant Search and Itinerary Builder” on the left-hand navigation panel. Users can view the itineraries on their desktop calendars or mobile devices and will be able to sync their itineraries with the AAOS Mobile Meeting Guide app when it becomes available.

In addition, live streaming webcasts of symposia during the meeting will enable registrants to “be in two places at once,” or watch symposia after they have been presented.

Dr. Price also explained that the interactive AAOS iPoster Website, which can be viewed online by those who are not able to attend the meeting, will feature audio from the authors to enhance the learning experience. The website, which has been expanded for 2013 to include iScientific Exhibits, enables viewers to see an electronic version of the presentation, interact with the presenters and coauthors on a blog, and use the “Add to favorites” feature to create a group of posters of particular interest. The website currently contains content from the 2012 Annual Meeting, but will feature iPosters and iScientific Exhibits for the 2013 Annual Meeting beginning in February 2013. Users can access the website at www.aaos.posterview.com

“One of the committee’s goals is to create a learning experience that is engaging and interactive,” said Dr. Price. “We continue to make strides in providing networking experiences, including both face-to-face and technology-enabled opportunities for attendees to interact with presenters and orthopaedic leaders. For example, Annual Meeting attendees will be able to send a text message to a symposium moderator, use an audience response app to respond to a question in a course, and even tweet about the meeting.”

The Academy’s kind of town
Dr. Price is looking forward to coming to Chicago for the Annual Meeting.

“We will have more convention center space in Chicago than we have had at other venues in recent years, which will enable the Annual Meeting to offer more sessions,” he said. “The exhibit space is also larger, which means there will be even more technical exhibits.”

Dr. Price added that more ‘first-time’ exhibitors will display new orthopaedic products.

He added that “the Annual Meeting is all about bringing orthopaedists and other healthcare professionals together to learn, and to discuss and debate issues to ultimately help us provide better patient care. Our goal is to provide a well-rounded, exciting program that provides something for each attendee, from residents to seasoned surgeons.”

According to Dr. Price,“attending the Annual Meeting is invigorating for orthopaedic surgeons, because it provides time to reflect and interact with colleagues. Regularly attending the Annual Meeting is an excellent way to confirm current practice patterns and adapt to changes and new information.”

For more information about the 2013 AAOS Annual Meeting, visit www.aaos.org/annual

Jennie McKee is a staff writer for AAOS Now. She can be reached at mckee@aaos.org