What I always enjoy about the American College of Gastroenterology annual meeting is the wide range of topics that get covered in a manner that is easy to “digest”. The weekend postgraduate course offered up to date lectures by leading experts with breakout luncheons for more intimate engagement on a specific topic. The course was extremely well attended with over 2200 people in the ballroom and even more attending virtually. Each lecture was filled with clinical pearls applicable to everyday clinical care.
The Friday courses of Practice Management, Pharmacology and Physiology and Pathology were also well attended both in person and online. The content for each was very relevant to the practicing gastroenterologist.
The Annual Meeting offered something new this year in Bonus Sessions. There is never enough time for every topic to be covered and this outlet allowed for popular topics that just could not be squeezed into the formal program.
Each bonus session had a theme with three presenters on 20 minute recorded lectures. The sessions were then available to registrants for viewing. In addition, selected bonus sessions had Meet and Greet opportunities in the morning with coffee and pastries for a chance to spend time with the presenters to ask additional questions.
The Presidential Plenary session covered topics from inflammatory bowel disease to emergency endoscopy and quality in colonoscopy. The questions were thoughtful and the presenters were clear in their messaging. It was also a delight that the session finished on time which is a sign of a well organized meeting.
The late breaking abstracts were presented Tuesday. Simultaneous symposia offer the attendee an option of a few different topics without being overwhelming. The weather in Charlotte was perfect with cool evenings and sunny days with a temperature around 72 degrees. The meeting itself was very easily negotiated with a convention center that was connected to a large hotel and another hotel across the street.
Poster sessions included research that ranged from post marketing data for approved therapies to post hoc analysis from registration trials as well as original clinical research. What is also nice about ACG is the ability for trainees to participate and present unusual or rare case reports in a poster form for practice in public speaking and presentation.
The ACG is the clinical home for many Allied Health staff who are encouraged to participate in the scientific sessions. They also have their own committee and lecture track and now make up 10% of the college membership.
Next year the meeting travels across the northern border to Vancouver, British Columbia. Get your passports ready!
Dr. Kane has received grants, consulting fees, or honorarium from Bristol Meyers Squibb, Boerhinger Ingelheim, Janssen, Gilead, Seres Therapeutics, TechLab, Takeda, and Fresenius Kabi. She is also the editor for UptoDate, Medical Advisor for PredicaMed.
Illustration by April Brust
