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Fatima, Nosheen

uz Zaman, Maseeh

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eCommons@AKU

eCommons@AKU Department of Radiology Medical College, Pakistan 4-2022 Virtual meetings during COVID-19 pandemic: Is it time to say goodbye to physical meetings? Maseeh uz Zaman Nosheen Fatima Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.aku.edu/pakistan_fhs_mc_radiol  Part of the Bacterial Infections and Mycoses Commons, Radiology Commons, Telemedicine Commons, and the Virus Diseases Commons LETTER TO THE EDITORJournal  of  the College of  Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2022,  Vol.  32(04):  553-554 553Virtual Meetings duringCOVID-19 Pandemic: Is it timeto say Goodbye to PhysicalMeetings?Sir,Academic conferences are considered the best way for medicalprofessionals to share their experiences, disseminate new ideas,and  set  new  evidence-based  professional  guidelines.1  Thesemeetings are historically conducted in person, and provide atangible platform to improve professional skills through work-shops,  and  oral  and  poster  presentations.  Apart  from  theseinvaluable advantages of physical academic meetings, we mustnot ignore their disadvantages. From the perspective of a busyand  well-engaged  practitioner,  a  conference  means  takingleaves from work, time, cost and exertion associated with tripsand some unpredictable factors, like illness, etc. Looking at theseconferences and symposia from the outlook of an organiser, suchmeetings are very important in the highly competitive pharma-ceutical and medical equipment business. Furthermore, suchacademic proceedings are also very demanding in terms of agood venue, availability of well-known key-note speakers, goodscholastic  content  and  compliance  to  ethical  and  legalnorms.2  So  in  order  to  assemble  such  a  sizeable  number  ofregular and new participants, these meetings should hold outs-tanding and comprehensive talks, meaningful interactions andsome post-meeting entertainments to make it an up-to-date andmemorable experience within a certain budget.COVID-19 outbreak in December 2019 caught the attention ofthe  world  due  to  its  high  contagiousness  and  mortality.3  InMarch 2020, after reports of massive causalities in various partsof world like the USA and Europe, World Health Organizationdeclared it a pandemic. Since then, COVID-19 has inundatedvarious parts of the world affecting nearly every individual andcommunity with significant modifications in everyday life. Toimpede the spread of COVID-19 virus, certain measures havebeen  implemented,  like  wearing  mask,  use  of  sanitizer,personal  protective  equipment  (PPE),  social  distancing  andquarantine.  Since  2020,  these  protective  measures  havecertainly changed the dynamics of every walk of life around theworld.These COVID-19-related protective steps have also had majorconsequences on continuous medical education (CME) of themedical  professionals.  Due  to  social  distancing,  inter/intra--countries  lockdowns,  and  flight  restrictions,  many  plannedmeetings had to be either cancelled, postponed, or rearrangedas virtual meetings. As of today, virtual meetings have becomethe predominant mode of dissemination of knowledge, sharingexperience among researchers,  and facilitating professionaldevelopments. These virtual meetings are being organised aswebinars and hybrid meetings, using digital platforms like Micro-soft teams®, Zoom® and GoToWebinar®, etc.4In  COVID-19  pandemic,  these  online  professional  meetingshave been found safe and inhibited the spread of highly conta-gious  COVID-19  virus.  Furthermore,  these  virtual  meetingshave humongous benefits for attendees, like avoiding travelhassle  and  saving  money  and  precious  time.  Similarly,  fororganisers these virtual meetings save huge money needed toengage venue for physical meetings, food and other social activ-ities.5 Presenters develop videos of their talk or posters, whichare made available to participants at the beginning of the confer-ence to view in any part of the world. Some organisers have usedGatherTown® or Zoom® to create a virtual series of pubs thatwere open 24 hours/day for participants to meet and video chator even conduct social events virtually.4As  the  uncertainty  of  coronavirus  continues,  virtual  confer-ences  should  be  embraced;  and  the  conference  organisersmust explore and design strategies to enhance disseminationwith an objective to discover new platforms. Such platformsshould  provide  optimal  interaction  among  participants,organisers and speakers, replicating the sense of collaborationand socialisation that a participant would normally get in a phys-ical event. Virtual academic events are more reasonable, acces-sible, and financially sustainable. We foresee the possibility offully virtual conferences becoming the primary source of knowl-edge  dissemination  by  avoiding  dissemination  of  COVID-19virus. In this regard, a smart mobile phone becomes equallyessential  and  important  like  stethoscope  in  a  healthcare’sprofessional life.CONFLICT OF INTEREST:Authors declared no conflict of interest.AUTHORS' CONTRIBUTION:MUZ: Concept, drafting, final approval.NF: Literature search, drafting, final approval. REFERENCESMedical conferences in the post-COVID world: A challenge,1.and an opportunity. Eur Radiol 2020; 30(10):5533-5. doi:10.1007/s00330-020-06933-3.Lisa McKenzie 2017. http://www.meetingsnet.com/ medical-2.pharma-meetings/healthcare-congress-trends-watch-2017-and-beyond (accessed on 2.9.21).World  health  organization.  WHO  announces  COVID-193.outbreak  a  pandemic.  2020.  Geneva:  World  HealthOrganization;  Available  from:  http://www.euro.who.int/en/heps//:coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.alth-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/news/news/2020/3/who-announces-covid-19-outbreak-a-pandemic  (accessed  on30.8.21).Gina  Sipley.  http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/4.LETTER TO THE EDITORJournal  of  the College of  Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan 2022,  Vol.  32(04):  553-5545542021/03/04/the-post-covid-future-of-virtual-conferences/.Advantages and disadvantages of  online  meetings.  Pros5.and Cons my own conference blog. webinar useful tips.Maseeh  Uz  Zaman  and  Nosheen  Fatima..................................................................................Department  of  Radiology,  The  Aga  Khan  University  Hospital,Karachi,  Pakistan..................................................................................Correspondence  to:  Dr.  Maseeh  Uz  Zaman,  Department  ofRadiology,  The  Aga  Khan  University  Hospital,  Karachi,PakistanE-mail:  maseeh.uzzaman@aku.edu...................................................................Received: September 06, 2021;   Revised: October 28, 2021;Accepted:  November  04,  2021DOI:  https://doi.org/10.29271/jcpsp.2022.04.553••••••••••

Virtual meetings during COVID-19 pandemic: Is it time to say goodbye to physical meetings?

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Virtual meetings during COVID-19 pandemic: Is it time to say goodbye to physical meetings?

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