{"id":4238,"date":"2012-12-19T05:21:22","date_gmt":"2012-12-19T04:21:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/?p=4238"},"modified":"2013-02-27T14:46:48","modified_gmt":"2013-02-27T13:46:48","slug":"benefits-and-barriers-sport-exercise-medicine-conferences-through-the-eyes-of-a-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2012\/12\/19\/benefits-and-barriers-sport-exercise-medicine-conferences-through-the-eyes-of-a-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Benefits and barriers: Sport &amp; Exercise Medicine (SEM) conferences through the eyes of a student"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #008000\"><em><strong>Undergraduate perspective on Sports &amp; Exercise Medicine &#8211;<\/strong><\/em><\/span><strong><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong><em>a BJSM blog series<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>By Holly Weaver<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-4239\" alt=\"lecture hall\" src=\"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2012\/12\/lecture-hall.jpg\" width=\"279\" height=\"191\" srcset=\"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2012\/12\/lecture-hall.jpg 398w, http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/files\/2012\/12\/lecture-hall-300x205.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 279px) 100vw, 279px\" \/>The consensus amongst my peers was that being a team doctor in the Olympics would make a \u2018Top 5 jobs in the world\u2019 list. You may therefore be surprised to hear then that it is relatively easy to progress through <a href=\"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2012\/10\/04\/to-train-or-not-to-train-for-sem-the-medical-student-dilemma\/\">undergraduate studies without encountering Sports &amp; Exercise Medicine<\/a> (SEM). Keen to remedy this, I set up a SEM society in my clinical school last year with the aim of encouraging interest in the speciality. Since then, to keep my finger on the pulse, I have made it my mission to attend as many conferences as allowed by my schedule (and bank account). So here is my level 5 evidence for SEM conferences &#8211;\u00a0 through the eyes of a medical student.<\/p>\n<p><b>The Student-orientated Conferences (aka \u2018cheap as chips\u2019):<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Imperial Sports Medicine Conference &#8211; 14th May 2011 &#8211; Cost: \u00a37<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>At a price even a student finds cheap, this was a great introduction to the world of SEM. It taught me the value of \u2018networking\u2019 as I made contact with other student societies which got the ball rolling.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>ECOSEP SEM Student Congress &#8211; 18th-19th August 2012 &#8211; Cost \u00a310<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The excitement in the wake of the Olympics ensured a strong group of delegates at this inaugural ECOSEP conference aimed at students. My verdict? Definitely a success &#8211; I would recommend attending its next instalment. Integrating delegates from a variety of backgrounds demonstrated the importance of a multi-disciplinary team approach to SEM. My highlight was the seminar on exercise prescription; in my opinion this <a href=\"https:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2012\/11\/05\/undergraduate-curricula-an-opportunity-for-progress-requires-your-help\/\">should be covered in all medical school curriculums<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cardiff SEMS Olympic Conference &#8211; 15th December 2012 &#8211; Cost \u00a310<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After the hugely successful first conference held by the Cardiff Sports &amp; Exercise Medicine Society (CSEMS), I made sure I took full advantage of the impressive programme on offer at the <a href=\"http:\/\/groups.cardiffstudents.com\/SEMS\/rsvp?id=18921\">Cardiff SEMS Olympic conference<\/a>. The opportunity to attend different workshops, in addition to inspiring key note lectures, enabled me tailor the programme to my personal preference.<\/p>\n<p><b>The Professional Approach (aka \u2018big names, big money\u2019):<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>UKSEM International Conference 2011 &#8211; 23rd-26th November 2011<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I attended UKSEM for free as an undergraduate representative for the Manchester SEM Society. It was a grand affair at the Excel centre in London, attracting an international roster of leading SEM professionals. Many expressed interest in the student society, however the scale of the conference venue and the lecture programme precluded people from spending much time in the exhibition hall.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>World Sports Trauma Congress &#8211; 17th-20th October 2012 &#8211; Cost: \u00a3150 for 2 days<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Thanks go out to my college for providing the financial support for this conference; the price, even with the \u2018early bird\u2019 price discounted for training grade, would have stopped me from going otherwise. I was keen to go as the emphasis was on sports orthopaedics. This combined with the ticket price meant that I had high expectations. The scope was huge, and in terms of organisation, venue and sponsors they ticked every box. All of the speakers were fascinating and I learnt a lot about a subject matter I was never exposed to previously. However, I didn\u2019t leave buzzing with excitement. I realised that this was because it was pitched at people at the stage in their careers where the cutting-edge topics weren\u2019t just <i>cool<\/i>, it was what they needed to keep their skills up to date. This conference simply wasn\u2019t aimed at me. In fact, few conferences are aimed at individuals in the early stages of their career. \u00a0However, students should still attempt to attend conferences, placing a higher priority on networking &amp; getting a foot into the \u2018SEM door.\u2019<\/p>\n<p>Taken together, my experiences and conversations with peers suggest that medical students must use their initiative to fill our current \u2018SEM knowledge gap.\u2019 There is little benefit from just waiting for SEM to feature in the undergraduate curriculum!!<\/p>\n<p><b>7 tips for students attending SEM conferences:<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Sign up early as many have early bird ticket prices (and buy train tickets early too)<\/li>\n<li>Get sponsorship, some of them are overpriced for a student budget &#8211; ask about funds at your university or relevant student society<\/li>\n<li>On the same note&#8230;take advantage of the cheap ones! Don\u2019t assume because a conference costs a tenner it will be inferior to the pricey one with all the big sponsors<\/li>\n<li>Plan the sessions you will attend and research the speakers; it enables you to pinpoint which topics interest you so that you can read a relevant paper or two<\/li>\n<li>If you achieve No. 4, remember that if you\u2019ve got a good question, ask it!<\/li>\n<li>Get stuck in at practical workshops, it\u2019s easier to chat over a model knee than at formal \u2018networking breaks\u2019; at least it\u2019s an ice breaker if you can\u2019t tell your PCL from your ACL!<\/li>\n<li>Choose a conference that is happening now and put it in your calendar for next year; plan to enter the poster competition or submit an abstract and keep your eyes peeled for the submission deadline! Voila, extra CV points!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>**********************************************************<\/p>\n<p><b><i>Holly Weaver <\/i><\/b><i>is a final year medical student at the University of Cambridge Clinical School. She is the founder and president of the Cambridge Sports and Exercise Medicine Society (Cambridge SEMS).<\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Liam_West\" target=\"_blank\"><em><b>Liam West<\/b><\/em><\/a><i>\u00a0<\/i><em>BSc (Hons) is a final year medical undergraduate student at Cardiff University, Wales. He coordinates the \u201cUndergraduate Perspective on Sports &amp; Exercise Medicine\u201d Blog Series for BJSM.<\/em><!--TrendMD v2.4.8--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Undergraduate perspective on Sports &amp; Exercise Medicine &#8211;\u00a0a BJSM blog series By Holly Weaver The consensus amongst my peers was that being a team doctor in the Olympics would make a \u2018Top 5 jobs in the world\u2019 list. You may therefore be surprised to hear then that it is relatively easy to progress through undergraduate [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/2012\/12\/19\/benefits-and-barriers-sport-exercise-medicine-conferences-through-the-eyes-of-a-student\/\">Read More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2853,185,1,188,2697],"tags":[2905],"class_list":["post-4238","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-basem-2","category-conferences","category-uncategorized","category-guest-posts","category-uksem-conferences","tag-undergraduate-perspective"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4238"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4238\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stg-blogs.bmj.com\/bjsm\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}