Submitted by Barbarie Hill, 2009 Publicity Chair
Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Cincinnati, OH
Plans for the 2009 Midwest Chapter Annual Conference are firming up, and a lot of new information has been added to the website. Check it out, and start making your plans to come to Columbus to "Seek, Explore, Discover" with us October 3-6.
The Continuing Education Committee is planning courses on a variety of topics from which you can choose to start your conference experience on Saturday, Oct. 3. You can learn how to make a podcast or develop a strategic plan; explore communicating with physicians or measuring our impact; or advance your PubMed searching skills or learn more about understanding health care literature.
Saturday evening will be a great time to socialize and catch up with colleagues from around the region at a welcome reception in the Hyatt with appetizers and music to start the conference off on the right foot. Afterward you'll have the opportunity to attend the Short North Gallery Hop for dinner, shopping and art.
Sunday will be a very busy day. The official conference program will hit the ground running (literally) with plenary speaker Clifford Stoll and fill the day with a panel discussion of "What Administrators Want," an NLM/GMR update, contributed papers, time with vendors and a business meeting. The events don't stop there, though. In the evening you'll enjoy a gala event with dinner, tours and entertainment at the Ohio Statehouse.
Monday will be another full day featuring plenary speaker Lorcan Dempsey and an MLA update, a panel on "Scholarly Communication," a poster session and the GMR Technology Forum. It's a full schedule, but we'll have the evening to relax before more CE classes on Tuesday when we can learn about distance learning or emergency preparedness.
If you're unable to attend the MLA annual meeting this year, the Midwest Chapter meeting may be your only chance to meet with colleagues from across the region and recharge your professional batteries by engaging with stimulating speakers and attending top-quality CE courses. You'll get all of that at a bargain rate, too! If your institution pays only a part (or none) of the cost for you to attend professional meetings and you're footing the bill yourself, you'll want to get the most for your money. A regional meeting is the most cost-effective investment you can make in your professional advancement.
Registration for the conference has not yet opened, but you can still begin now to prepare by:
- checking out the conference website
- submitting your travel request to your administrators
- submitting a paper or poster abstract (May 31 is the deadline)
- choosing CE courses of interest to you
- making a reservation at the Hyatt on Capitol Square in Columbus for Oct. 3-6
- talking to your colleagues about attending.
See you in Columbus in October!