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The Academy's annual meeting Cheryl K. Nordstedt Evanston, IL

Since its beginning, the primary goal of the Academy has been to provide the highest-quality continuing medical education in dermatology and its related disciplines. The annual meeting, which has occurred in 47 of the Academy's 50 years, has been the preeminent vehicle for achieving this goal.

For many American Academy of Dermatology members, the annual meeting is synonymous with the Academy. This perception is reflected in speech patterns. One member may ask, "Are you going to the Academy next year?," while another reminisces about attending his first Academy as a resident. This perception may have been more accurate in the earlier years when the Academy's primary function seems to have been to produce the annual meeting.

In more recent years, programs and services provided by the Academy have been expanded greatly. Continuing medical education offerings now include the "Blue Journal," regional post- graduate courses, "Dialogues in Dermatology," an annual Summer Session, and committee-sponsored courses in special topics. However, the annual meeting continues to be the most all-encompassing educational program in dermatology. Each year it brings together the greatest number of dermatol- ogists to participate in the widest range of subject- centered sessions, presented by the largest faculty in the world of dermatology.

The annual meeting serves many purposes for its members. For the majority, the educational ses- sions are of primary importance. As evidence of this, hundreds of members rush to complete and return their advance registration forms as quickly as possible, competing for seats in the limited at- tendance courses, forums, and focus sessions. At the close of advance registration for the 1987 an- nual meeting, 31,303 tickets were issued to 4623 advance-registered physicians. Some choose to

Cheryl K. Nordstedt, Director, Meetings and Conven- tions, American Academy of Dermatology.

fashion their educational itineraries with the open- admission symposia as the primary component. Attendance at these sessions ranges from 100 to 1200, with 2500 physicians listening to the Lila Gruber and Marion Sulzberger lecturers on Mon- day morning and nearly 1800 physicians attending the final morning's symposia.

For many members, the opportunity to interact with their peers in both educational and social set- tings is the factor that brings them back year after year. The opening days of the meeting are filled with handshakes, hugs, and exuberant greetings

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as old friends meet each other. The smaller focus sessions, which are specifically designed to pro- mote interaction and discussion among partici- pants and faculty, continue to be among the most popular educational events. Many academic insti- tutions host departmental reunions in which phy- sicians and their spouses renew acquaintances with old classmates and teachers, swap stories about the rigors of residencies, and catch up on the major events in each others' lives.

Furthering his or her professional goals is a sig- nificant aspect for some who attend the annual meeting. In response to requests from members, the educational program has expanded in recent years to include socioeconomic and legal issues in medicine as well as practice-related subjects such as office management, computers, photography, and practice marketing. Whether a physician is treading the academic career path, looking for a partner in practice, or trying to expand their pa- tient referral network, the annual meeting is the place to meet the right people. Relationships es- tablished and nurtured in the arena of the annual meeting can be important to a physician's profes- sional growth.

The Council on Scientific Assembly, which is responsible for the annual meeting, is keenly aware of the multiple roles the meeting plays in the professional lives of the Academy member- ship. The Council is made up of five members who each serve a 5-year term and each becomes chairman of the Council and the annual meeting during their fifth year. This group is responsible for formulating the scientific program. In this pro- cess they review the evaluations from previously presented sessions and survey new developments in the field to assure that they are incorporated into the program. Recognizing the importance of in- teraction among peers, the Council strives to main- tain a balance between small group and large ses- sions. The Council on Scientific Assembly is also responsible for establishing and reviewing policies for the annual meeting. These include scientific content, faculty selection and rotation, as well as registration policies, fee schedules, and exhibit rules and regulations.

Future sites for the meeting are selected by the

Journal of the American Academy of

Dermatology

Council with final confirmation by the Board of Directors. A rotation pattern is established so that the meeting moves around the country from year to year, thus accommodating the travel needs of a different portion of the membership each year. They carefully review the facilities available in every potential city and give highest priority to adequate meeting rooms, exhibit facilities, and the availability of hotel rooms.

The annual meeting has experienced phenom- enal growth since 1938. In that year, 238 der- matologists gathered at the Hotel Jefferson in St. Louis for a 2-day meeting. The program con- sisted of two concurrent sessions with 19 physi- cians participating on the faculty.

Fifty years of growth are best reflected in the comparison of numbers. At the Forty-seventh An- nual Meeting in San Antonio, 5468 dermatolo- gists, residents, and office staff participated in 328 separate educational events scheduled over a 51/2-day period. Of this 664 physicians participated as faculty, with an additional 240 giving 4-minute presentations at the Gross and Microscopic Sym- posium. One hundred twenty posters and 23 sci- entific exhibits presented the results of recent re- search, 235 companies used 512 exhibit booths to display products and services specific to the field of dermatology, and 14 patient advocate organi- zations occupied tables in the exhibit hall.

Growth is also reflected in the meeting's com- plexity and sophistication. The scientific program now requires frequent use of dual-projection, high- intensity projectors with xenon light sources, laser pointers, video projection, and video-enhanced large-screen speaker images. Laboratory sessions and demonstrations use computers with phone con- nections and video display capabilities, micro- scopes, electronic scanners, pigs' feet, cadaver limbs, sutures, interactive computer response sys- tems, and closed-circuit TV. Handouts for courses and forums and the evaluation forms distributed at symposia used 11/2 tons of printed paper in 1987.

Numerous services are provided for by outside companies and agencies to fulfill the full range of requirements. These include housing bureaus, temporary agencies for registration clerks and room aides, security contractors, caterers, exhibit

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setup crews, florists, shuttle bus and sightseeing tour operators, audiovisual companies, phone companies, printers, and freight forwarders.

Many Academy members view the annual meet- ing's growth with mixed emotions. They yearn for the golden days of the Palmer House, where for years everyone could stay in one hotel, the sci- entific sessions were an elevator ride away, wives

shopped on State Street, and the guys gathered with trombones and trumpets for evening jam ses- sions in the lobby. However, the annual meeting has grown, with membership now more than 7300 and continues to meet the professional, so- cial, and educational needs of most Academy members.