Beyond CMEs - 5 Reasons To Attend In-Person Podiatry Meetings

You're listening to Podiatry Marketing, conversations on building a successful podiatry practice with Tyson Franklin and Jim McDannald.

Hi. I'm Tyson Franklin, and welcome to this week's episode of podiatry marketing, the world's greatest podiatry marketing podcast. And with me, as usual, is my cohost and friend, big Jim Mac. So how are doing today, Jim?

Doing well, Tyson. I'm kinda getting over a little bit of jet lag. Been traveling around The US, going to a bunch of different podiatric conferences. So, no, it's been great great few weeks this this year in 2024. Getting out and seeing some of our listeners, some of my former classmates, some other podiatrists that I just met for the first time.

So, no, it's been a a good start to 2024.

I have seen you well, you've told me the different things that you've gone to over the last couple of months. How many event like, many podiatry events are there in America? It seems to be every weekend, you could go to something if you wanted to. There's so many different groups over there.

Yeah. I would probably say there's somewhere between maybe, like, 60 to 80 different events here. You know, I I all the different state associations will generally have a stand alone conference. Some of the smaller states will maybe combine efforts, but then you also have different kind of subspecialties or other niches within the with profession. Things like sports medicine and wound care have stand alone meetings.

So, yeah, definitely a lot of opportunities to get educational, continue medical education, but also get out there and see some of your colleagues and co residents and classmates from years gone by. So yeah, it's a in The US, there's a lot going on when it comes to the podiatry conference scene.

Yeah. I suppose, yeah, you've got 50 states. If every one of those states has a conference every year, there's 50 conferences you technically could attend.

Yeah. You could if there was 50. I'm guessing it's that some of the smaller states kinda combine efforts. I know like for example, New Jersey and Pennsylvania used to be together. And a lot of some of smaller out West states like Wyoming and maybe the Dakotas don't really have a podiatry conference.

But yeah, there's lots of different opportunities to, you know, get figure out what's going on from an educational standpoint, but also, you know, reconnect and get motivated by some of your your colleagues and some of your friends in the profession.

So what did you learn at these conferences?

Yeah. So we'll kind of go over, you know, some different aspects of the benefits of going to these conference. But obviously, you know, I ran into some, you know, former classmates to kind of see what they're up to and learn about the ways that they're practicing has been pretty interesting. I mean, obviously, there's all kinds of different types of technology, you know, whether it be kind of some fee for service stuff or lots of different kind of surgical equipment and things. But you know there's kind of five areas that you know that you can kind of learn beside just getting the CMEs when you go to a conference like this.

There can be a lot of benefits both professionally and for your practice's revenue. So it's really I think kinda five reasons or five different things that people can get out of conferences if they choose to attend.

Okay. What are they? What's what's number one? What so are these in any particular order of importance or these are just five things that you mix mix and match?

People can mix and match. You know, I think the first one that, you know, is that, you know, in order to maintain your licensure, people need to get, you know, some continuing education credits. And then and then it's a chance also to enhance their skills whether it be you know orthopedics or you know making orthotics or doing surgery. There's lots of kind of in there's ways to kind of enhance the skills but you know a lot of people will initially go to these conferences just for you know CME credits but also with with the event of COVID and other stuff, a lot of people now just doing those things online. But it can be really beneficial to to kind of go to these in person conferences because there are these hands on workshops and seminars that, you know, sometimes if you're just sitting in in a computer and, in your clinic watching an hour of this a day, you just don't get the same kind of interaction with not only the experts, but also the skills to use your hands in some ways that you with some equipment you may never have used before.

So you kind of get into the latest research findings and treatment techniques to really kind of be on the cutting edge of foot and ankle care. Attending podiatrists can stay updated ensuring they kind of offer the best care for their patients And like I said, you can't get, you know, continuing medical education credits for some of this stuff, you know, while you're kind of maintaining your licensure, everybody needs to do if they wanna continue practicing.

Yeah. But I think one of the main things too is you could you can read an article, You can watch a video on YouTube or wherever you you gain your information. But if you're sitting at home doing it, once you've, yeah, you once you've taken that information in, then you gotta figure out what am I gonna do with it. When you're at a conference and you might see somebody talking, I might be talking about new ways of treating neuromas or some research on neuromas. You watch you watch that person do the speech, and this happened to me when I was in The UK.

Dave Cashley did a presentation on some neuroma treatment that he was doing. But I remember afterwards, when he came out and asking him questions about it, I said, Dave, what did you mean by this? Or how did you find that? Or have you thought about this? And we were just having a conversation.

Then I had him on the podcast talking about the neuroma treatment that he was doing. But even then, you're they might be at a bar or you're at a coffee shop afterwards, and there'll be other people there at the conference. You get together, you go, oh, what do you think about this talk? And all of a sudden, you're bouncing ideas or because, you know, sometimes, yeah, three people can see the same thing, but you all take three different things away from it. So to me, that's that's the benefit of being live is taking the information and then talking about it with your colleagues.

You get that in real time interactions, right, that you can't if you're just sitting watching a video or like you said reading an article. You're not gonna get that ability to interact, ask questions, you know, poke holes in somebody's there if you don't agree with a specific type of hardware or the way someone decides to treat a patient in that way, understanding kind of the why. You know, you kind of get the how and the what when you're watching the video, but you don't always get the why in some of these these kind of online CMEs. So if you're able to kind of have that interaction, it's hugely important. And it kind of leads actually into the next topic.

And this is, you know, along with asking questions, you have the chance to kind of network with these folks, right? Some of the most valuable times that I've been at conferences that is not necessarily in the lecture hall. Maybe it's at right after the lecture when you go up and talk to somebody or it's, you know, in the the hall where you're you just, you know, you saw a a classmate and a colleague who's practicing in an interesting way and you have some question with them about, you know, how do they decide to focus on sports medicine or how do they go about marketing their practice and you know, it just gives you chances to kind of be interacting in real time that you just won't get because you know, maybe that person is an email away or a phone call away and it's a bit more of a barrier when we're kind of all busy in practice or busy in our own clinic and doing things. So conferences really provide a unique platform for podiatrists to meet and interact with their peers, industry leaders, know, maybe it's, you know, someone that's done done a very interesting technique that you would like to learn and to be able to kind of interface with them and kind of see them face to face can really have an impression on you and you can ask them those questions.

Also it's a way to find if you're young in practice or even you're a little bit for the longer practice is a way to find potential mentors from around the world. You know, you just run into people you would never have seen in real life by attending a conference. So these interactions can really lead to you know, potentially for professional collaborations. You know, maybe someone is doing something in a similar vein that you are, that if you wanted to write papers about a certain topic, maybe it's you know, you both love treating runners or marathoners and maybe you have a small sample size yourself, but not really enough that's statistically significant for like a research paper. But by having, you know, a partnership with somebody else, then maybe it's an opportunity to do a professional collaboration.

Also referrals, you know, maybe you go to your state association, you live in a big area or maybe one of your colleagues live somewhere else and you can kind of share referrals and get to know somebody by, oh I know somebody in you know like for example I was in North Carolina, maybe like you know someone's in Raleigh and someone's in Greensboro and they strike up a friendship and if they have patients that move to those areas they have a easy referral. It's also just exchanging ideas and experiences and it can really enhance somebody's clinical practice. By building kind of a robust professional network, of in conference, in person at these really leads to opportunities for joint ventures and partnerships to expand the practices offerings and potentially even your patient base.

Oh, I I think the one of the other things about networking that sometimes people forget about, and I mentioned it all the time, about digging the well before you need the water. When you go to these events and you're talking to people and you're you're being seen and you're being heard and you're asking questions and, yeah, you're not rushing off at the end of the day, you're staying back to meet people and exchange business cards and email addresses and staying in touch with each other. If for some reason, shit goes down, something happens, there's a problem with your business or just anything in life, these people that you've created contacts within a network with over a number of years, they will be there when you need them. Whereas if you just rock up, don't really wanna talk to her and you bugger off again, or you don't even go to these events, and all of sudden something is happening in your life or business and you need help, no one knows who you are. You you will get what you will get out of the profession what you put into it.

Yeah. Exactly. If you're just kind of going into your podiatry cave and expecting patients to come to you and, you know, it you don't need to be all alone. It's you know, nobody does it alone. So it's you know, you don't have to initially be best friends with everybody that practices podiatry.

But if you have a, you know, a group and a network of people that you trust and that you can kind of share best practices with, how you do certain things, maybe even some, you know, difficult times when you're in practice, it's much much better to have that that network of people than trying to face those things along.

No, no, I definitely agree. So what's what's the third thing? So the third thing

is this exposure to new products and technologies, right? Not that newer is always better, but you know, the world is always changing. And if you're trying to do things, practice if I'm trying to practice podiatry the way I learned in residency or school, I would be well behind the time. So it's really important that you get out there and you talk to vendors at the conferences to showcase the kind of latest medical devices and equipment and technology that's relevant to our profession. You know, this firsthand exposure can really allow you to learn about, you know, and evaluate what are the new tools out there and products that maybe improve patient outcomes, enhance your office's efficiency and maybe expand the services that you offer that really helps grow the revenue of your practice so you can provide not only great care, but you're really kind of building your business in an efficient manner.

Implementing innovative solutions in your practice can lead to better patient satisfaction, better expectations, know they see you as that local expert who is kind of on the cutting edge, who's trying to do things to improve their lives and to improve their mobility, It's a real win win. Like I said, just because it's new doesn't necessarily mean it's better, but you can't just write stuff off. You need to experience and see what things are like to see whether things like different types of medical equipment or new technologies could be beneficial to your practice. By going to conferences and seeing, talking to vendors, talking to other podiatrists or using these things, you'll get a better sense instead of just getting a attending a webinar or just getting pitched cold by somebody that has this great new technology. It gives you a chance to interact with them, ask them questions, and make sure that you are staying current and providing the best possible care for your patients.

Yeah. Well, I know a few podiatrists when they were looking at say the national conference and I was asking, why are you going? And one of the things they said, yeah, I'm going because I've been looking at and they they mentioned about six or eight different things they thought about buying for the clinic, but they weren't quite sure. And they knew all the vendors were actually gonna be at the conference. So they said, we've got it written down.

We've got all their questions worked out. We can now go there, and we can touch everything, and we can feel it, and we can see how it works, and we can actually talk to the supplier and sit on it and and do different things. And they and they were there purely on a on a buying a buying spree. That's what they wanted to do. But they didn't like what they saw.

They weren't gonna buy it. But they said that the best thing about being there was to actually touch and feel everything. And plus you get to see things that you probably didn't even know were available because you just hadn't come across it yet. I expect when we went I went to podcast movement back in 02/2018 in Philadelphia. There's three and a half thousand people there.

I did not realize when it came to audio how cool some of the stuff is that is there. I was like a kid in a candy shop. But even when I was at the National Podiatry Conference, there were some things there where this stuff's pretty cool. Especially when it came to do with three d printing and milling milling machines and orthotic therapy and different types of orthotics that you know, there's always podiatrists out there who who are developing some really cool stuff, but you're only gonna see it when you're actually at these events.

Now that's a great example. Along with three d printing, one thing that's really changed since I was in residency or even in in school is the the shockwave therapy. Yeah. When I was in when I was in school, was this huge device that basically was like wheeled into a room almost like a massive c arm that people had to physically like put their foot on a certain spot on it, but it was this huge thing. And if you just kind of put your head in the sand, you're not really paying attention to it, think oh I would never why would I want to kind of have this huge thing in my clinic, wouldn't want that and you just kind of note don't think about it for a couple decades, you come back to it.

Now it's this handheld device. It's this tiny small thing that everybody's using in their practice to improve the outcomes of the heel pain or Achilles tendonitis and stuff. And so it's been yeah. It's a perfect example of that staying current and knowing what's out there so you can provide the best care.

Yeah. And also some of the smaller companies, they don't have the budget to send stuff to everybody. They also don't have the database yet to get information to everyone. So somebody might develop, you know, widget a, that is gonna be absolutely fantastic for your practice, but they need people to be at these conferences so that they can then collect your database, give you the information, and then stay in touch with you. So it's the best way of actually sometimes seeing some new stuff from small companies that you're not gonna see it otherwise.

Yeah. Perfect example of that as there there's an EMR company that I've come kind of friendly with who actually I spent a little bit of time in their booth at two of the conferences called Populate and they have an EMR that has a lot of AI and kind of future forward, I would say technologies built into their platform. And, you know, in the EMR space, there's a lot of people that hate their EMR, electronic medical records for those folks that don't know what those those acronym stands for. But it's interesting that like you said, they don't have a huge budget. They're trying to go out and make relationships and show people their product and have these kind of on-site demos and it's a kind of a if you don't for not at that conference, may have never heard of them.

So it's a way for them to get their name out, but also for for people to come to the conference to maybe is there a better way to to dictate a note in a way that's more time efficient, but also you're not stuck behind a computer typing away while you should be talking and listening to your patients and giving them about the FaceTime that they deserve. So, yeah, it is interesting to kind of you know, I'm a geek though. Right? I love all these different types of technologies, but So

do I.

If it's in the if it if it benefits the patients, I'm all for it.

But it's no like, it's no different to when you you might go to an event and they might have wine tasting, for example. And you might try 10 different wines, and all a sudden, there'll be two there. Go, I didn't even know they existed because it's a small winery. They don't have the budget like the bigger companies do. So to me, that's what the conference is.

Why you need to be there is so you can taste some of the things that are there. And then you might know that if you don't go there, your competition may. They may see it bringing into your town, become legendary with it. By the time you see it, I always say, no one remembers who came second. Exactly.

What's the next thing?

Yeah. So the next thing is kind of professional education and growth. Sometimes you can get some recognition for this, but presenting research findings, case studies, new treatment methodologies at conferences is a real great way to elevate not only your standing, but also elevate the profession. Because like I said, there's they can have these interactions with people who are doing cutting edge research and maybe new ways of doing things in the profession that it's gonna benefit everybody. So, you know, if you're a speaker at a conference or you're, you know, showing a poster, it's a way for you to kind of get in front of some of the people that are, you know, building these types of, you know, devices or doing these different types of techniques that can really benefit patients.

So, you know, this could potentially lead to, you know, more referrals, increasing patient trust, you know, opportunities to really advance not only your career, but the profession as a whole. So, you know, engaging in academia, but also, you know, giving talks and presenting posters can be really helpful. You know, such professional growth could translate into increased revenue potentially and real demand for your specific area of expertise. Not to toot my own horn, but before I, you know, got into doing podiatry marketing, was one of those people that went to conferences and I would sit in the back, usually maybe a little bit cloudy headed after, you know, a lot of our conferences were in Las Vegas and New Orleans, which are fantastic places Yeah. To have a lot of fun.

Maybe not always the best places to to learn a lot, but since I've come and started Podiatry Growth, I now have an opportunity to get on stage and talk to different podiatrists, their staff about ways of growing their practice. And I'm very excited to to get up there and do that. And I'm really hoping to not only educate my colleagues, but also help the profession understand what those digital opportunities are. So, you know, whether it's something in the, you know, straight up health care where you're helping patients or you're helping your fellow colleagues, you know, kind of getting some recognition and not being afraid to participate in speaking or presenting a poster can not only benefit yourself but benefit the profession potentially.

Yeah. I must admit I was lucky when the first few conferences I went to, I would be right at the back. Probably still slightly inebriated from the day the night before because you'll catch up with friends and it was it was fun. It was fun to be there. And a lot of people have probably done that in the first few conferences.

Plus, I was too scared to sit in the front in case someone asked me a question. So if I I could hide at the back. But as time went on, yeah, you start moving your way up, but there's nothing better than being at a conference and being a speaker. Walking up there on stage, it like, in my early days, I was petrified to do public speaking. Just absolutely petrified.

But now, if I'm invited, yep, I'll be there. I I love it. And one, because I like sharing what I what I know, but also it's a great way of you get up there and also you're being introduced to whether it's a thousand people or a hundred people. And then afterwards, it's so easy to start conversations with people because everyone knows who you are. So you just yeah.

You you get I think you get a lot out of conferences. If you can if you can't if you don't wanna be on stage speaking, you just try and reach out to the organizers. Is this somehow you can be involved and help? Because they always need volunteers. And that also exposes you to more people, which comes back to your whole networking benefit as well.

Yeah. Just couldn't agree more.

Hey. What's the last thing? What's number five?

Yes. We'll wrap it up. I kinda it kind of, you know, kinda leads into this the last one. These two are kinda connected and it's really about something about being in person with other people at conferences. It can really be really motivational.

It can really invigorate you. Like, I usually come away from these conferences not only having, you know, maybe seen old classmates or old residency mates, also met some new people who are doing fantastic things in our profession. So attending conferences can really reignite your passion for the profession. You know learning about new success stories or how other people overcome challenges you know in patient care and engaging with kind of your enthusiastic peers can be really motivating. So, you know, you can kind of get some renewed energy and this motivation can really help you kind of springboard you into providing, you know, great care of your patients, you know, improving, you know, the relationship you have with your staff and really kind of drive innovation in your clinic.

So, you know, by participating in online, you know, in line, sorry, in person conferences, you can really not only contribute to your own professional professional and personal development, but it really helps, you know, grow the financial health of your practice. And, know, I like I said, I I come back from these events and I'm always like so amped up to see what's going on in the profession, seeing the strides we're making and you know kind of the you know it just it feels really invigorating to be around people that you know you know maybe it's somebody new that I've met but also reconnecting with folks that are providing great care, foot and ankle care for their patients and really pushing the profession forward. Those are the people that usually attend these conferences and I definitely recommend if you've just been getting CMEs online to consider going to a conference or two each year to really reconnect with your peers and kind of find that that drive and motivation to provide great care, but also just really make your clinic all can be.

Yeah. I actually I think there's two parts to it too when you're talking about your team. I think if you're the owner of the business, your team needs to see that you go to these things because that that will inspire them. But also, I think if you're a team member I see so many podiatrists who do not attend things, and then ten years later, they're a florist. They're just not even doing podiatry anymore because they're just they're not invested in their in their career.

Every year, they'll take a holiday. Yeah. They'll plan go overseas and do that, but they'll never spend the money to go to a conference. And I think it's just you slowly just fade away out of the profession. You might still be in the profession for twenty or thirty years, but you really just fade away until being insignificant, unfortunately.

So I think, like you said, if you just go to one or two events and just and if you haven't been to one for years, just go to one and just see what it's like. Sit at the back of the room. Get really drunk if you want. Just sit at the back of room, get totally pissed, and but just sit there and just take in. And once you're sober up, start talking.

Don't talk to people while you're if you're an inebriated. Don't do that. Have you got anything else? Oh, you took that downhill, didn't I? Have you got anything else?

Oh, actually, will say one other thing. If you are going yourself and you are taking your tea, do not drink. Be responsible. Be a shining example of how you should go to a conference and behave yourself. Don't act like a pork chop and expect your team your team will whatever you do, they'll do it 10 times worse.

So behave yourselves.

No. But think that's a that's a good point, I think if you do have the opportunity, for example, I went to the conference in North Carolina and they had a practice manager and a medical assistant track. I think it's a good way I think it's a good way for those folks as well to, you know, meet their peers and meet some people from other clinics in the state or, you know, whatever region you're in. And and they can get some motivation, some best practices from those folks as well. And it kinda learn some new things that they can bring into the practice and feel like they're invested in the success of of the team and of the clinic.

So, you know, I think I'd leave it there is that if you do have the opportunity to bring your team along, you know, maybe take it easy at the the staff dinner when it comes to the the alcohol, but at the same time it can be a real team bonding experience and really help motivate them and see what's possible for you and for your clinic and they can play a really active and important role. So, yeah, like I said, I'm I'm a huge fan of going to conferences. If anybody, you know, wants a couple of speakers. I know a couple of guys that have a podcast about podiatry marketing that would be Oh, yeah.

And they were awesome speakers.

To give some talks at your your local association. So don't hesitate to reach out to us, but that kinda wraps it up for today. It was it was fun talking about this topic. And like I said, it's pretty top of mind for me since I've been to the New York State meeting recently, the ACT FAST, and then North Carolina. I look looking forward to some more here in 2024.

Yeah. I'd love to come over to some of the states and even, you know, Canada. Like I said, the last thing I just wanna finish up on this particular topic is, like you said towards the end, if you're taking a team, be responsible. But a good tip a friend of mine gave me once, when you go into a conference, have a have a conversation with your future self and just say that, I know that the day is gonna finish at five and then everyone's going to maybe wanna have a couple of drinks afterwards and maybe have dinner, but have a conversation with yourself. At this time, I will leave.

So when it gets to that time you've already had the conversation, don't even have to think about it because you already made the decision you're gonna get back to your room and chill out and get ready for the next day. Because I think nothing's better than turning up a conference day after day with a really, really clear head. It does it does work out for a better conference in the end.

For sure.

This has been a fantastic topic. I love this one. So thank you, Jim. Lot of fun. It was.

No problem, Jim. You need to go to more conferences so you can come back with all this information.

Yeah. I I definitely some more some more conference speaking related stuff coming in the future here. Was like I said, it was a great time in New York and in Florida and North Carolina. Back up here now in a wintry, cool, and cold Montreal, but definitely looking forward to some more in 2024.

Okay. I look forward to talking to you next week.

Sounds great, Tyson. Okay. Bye. Bye.

Thanks for listening to Podiatry Marketing with Tyson Franklin and Jim Mcdonald. Subscribe and learn more at Podiatry Marketing. That's the website address, podiatry.marketing.