In the Room Where it Happened – Analyzing In-Person vs Hybrid Meeting Results

Health Care Problem: The AAP Board discussed providing the best way to deliver education for the 2022 AAP annual meeting.  The AAP held one of the last in-person medical society meeting sin March 2020 as the country was beginning to shut-down due to COVID-19.  A large number of attendees could not attend the meeting as they were prohibited from travel.  The AAP recorded sessions to allow for on-demand options for attendees unable to attend the meeting.  In 2021, the AAP held a virtual meeting with sessions held recorded at specific times and on-demand for 6 months after the meeting. This allowed the Board to analyze in-person attendance versus virtual and on-demand education for the same education products.

In 2020, only 11 individuals of over 2400 paid registered attendees viewed any of free recorded sessions. There were close to 100 sessions available online.  In 2021, the virtual meeting had over 1400 registered individuals. On the peak day of the meeting, 863 (61%) attendees logged in at least once to the event. On the other days of the virtual meeting, the number of attendees for the virtual meeting were much lower, 352 (25%) and 482 (34%). Sessions were also available after the meeting for 6 months. During this time, only 73 sessions were viewed.

Based on the data of individuals that viewed virtual sessions or accessed recorded sessions, the Board determined the best, quality learning happens in-person.  Additionally, learning at meetings happens beyond just in the classroom.



Educational Strategy:

Physicians are required to obtain a certain number of continuing medical education (CME) to stay current in the field.  Our meeting attracts a large number of residents and medical students.  The Board discussed the challenge of providing CME education in-person versus virtual and the best way for individuals to learn.  There were requests from members both in the United States and international to provide virtual options for the annual meeting.  There were challenges with some institutions that required residents and physicians to participate virtually if a virtual option was available.  There continued to be challenges with international attendees being able to enter the United States based on covid issues and flight issues.

After conducting the review described above, the AAP Board of Directors  determined the best learning happens in-person and does not just occur in the "room" where education is happening but also in the hallways, receptions, and poster hall. During virtual events, it is hard to tell if people are really there, and if there are – are they engaged in the learning activity? Training in medicine is most effective in-person where hands-on techniques, discussion, Q&A, and other interactive activities can occur. The AAP had attempted some hybrid options in the past with mixed success. Journal articles were also reviewed to determine what other data and information was available on in-person learning versus virtual learning 

cites:

https://www.accme.org/sites/default/files/652_20141104_Effectiveness_of_Continuing_Medical_Education_Cervero_and_Gaines.pdf

https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/cmej/1900-v1-n1-cmej06482/1082651ar/abstract/

 

 

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41550-021-01325-z

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7942132/

 
 

Patient-Level Outcome(s) Measured: The AAP chose to offer innovative, in-person learning experiences that focuses on interaction and engagement with the audience, rather than didactic/ talking heads. The attendee needs to be present to actively participate in this of type meeting. We encourage case study, discussion rounds, debates, role-playing and more at our meeting. We encourage hands-on learning and showcase different technologies that attendees can touch, feel, and practice. Q&A and feedback with the speakers and experts is freely encouraged throughout the meeting. Our meeting technology, such as the itinerary planner/ app, is meant to supplement the live event, not replace it. Our attendees indicate a higher percentage of intent to change at the conclusion of our in-person activities, as well as improved skills, that ultimately will lead to improved patient care when they return to their practice.

Engagement at the in-person meeting is superior with most rooms having a large number of engaged attendees compared to the virtual meeting where few people attended the virtual meeting and less participated in the chat option during the virtual meeting.  A handful of on-demand sessions were accessed post meeting and there is not a way to determine if the video just played or the type of learning by the participant.

If we truly want the physicians to stay up-to-date on new medical practices to improve practice, the learning for our attendees should be accomplished in-person.