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Clinical Infection & Immunity

Editorial

Volume 7, Number 1, March 2022, pages 1-3

Sharing of Local Knowledge via a Virtual Regional Microbiology Meeting

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic imposed Disease Control and Prevention authorities around the globe to recommend sanitary and social distancing guidelines as a measure to contain the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. This led to cancellation of hundreds of scientific conferences worldwide to ensure compliance with the guidelines created to minimize the risk of exposure [1]. The effects on scientific societies have been dramatic. Planned activities had to be changed at short notice, conferences have converted to virtual formats, with activities that had to be arranged quickly and participants postponing or cancelling their plans because of risks of travel and interpersonal interactions of the usual in-person meetings [2].

The main goal of any medical society is to facilitate the share of knowledge, and promote collaborative work and growth. This goal cannot be met if members cannot meet, either in-person or virtually [2]. In the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is more important than ever to maximize communication across the scientific and medical community.

Attending an in-person conference has several advantages, including the ability to network, but at the same time, can be costly and time-consuming due to travelling. They are also resource-intensive, as they require considerable financial commitment for the venue, setting, audiovisual arrangements, transportation, comfort breaks and food that can exceed the means of an academic institution or society [3, 4].

Increasing the diversity of a research community is crucial for scientific innovation. It has also been pointed out that in-person conferences can emphasize inequalities in academic communities [5].

Although virtual meetings attempt to resemble in-person meetings as closely as possible, the virtual environment takes away from the human element [6], but in return it provides benefit of remote attendance to keep attendees safe from contagion [1]. Virtual meetings provide a platform that can reach a greater audience, which could in turn lead to new networking opportunities [1]. In fact, online conferences have allowed much higher levels of participation of researchers from all scientific sectors internationally, and, in particular, researchers from underrepresented groups, researchers from countries with low-to-middle income economies, and early-career researchers [5].

As a faculty at a minority serving institution, I work closely with students of various socio-economic backgrounds in the region on projects that relate to diseases with a huge social component. I am much aware of the importance of bridging basic sciences and clinical medicine through collaborative teaching with clinical and basic science faculty. As the President of the regional branch for the American Society for Microbiology (ASM), I impart this vision in the events I organize.

Virtual conferences can offer significant benefits but require considerable planning and creativity to be successful [7]. Each of the different phases of a meeting cycle: pre-planning, planning, accomplishing conference goals, gauging response and engaging the target audience, requires effort and strategizing [8].

Our last meeting was held virtually as per instructions by the ASM. The virtual format consisted of one afternoon/evening in the first day, followed by the morning of the second day, and included an opening and a closing keynote speaker, selected oral presentations, as well as mini-poster presentations.

A survey was conducted to all participants at the end of the event to evaluate how meaningful this virtual format meeting was to the participating medical and academic community. More than 75% of the participants stated that the virtual format of the meeting allowed them to interact, was engaging, and was a good way for effective communication. Their participation increased their interest in microbiology (81.3%), as well as their confidence in their ability to do microbiology science (93.8%), and enhanced their knowledge of science (81.3%) (Fig. 1).

Click for large image

Figure 1. Survey responses. (a) Occupational and (b) academic profile of the responders. (c) Survey responses showing that the vast majority of them were strongly agree (green) and agree (turquoise) in the Likert scale.

This experiential learning event served to inform about infectious diseases that affect the underserved populations in our region. The meeting provided a unique medical and research “social niche” where students, residents, postdocs, and faculty could interact with peers that think alike, sharing not only knowledge, but similar goals and a similar vision.

Our virtual regional meeting not only constituted a platform for dissemination of knowledge, but also a lower cost opportunity for medical students and residents, some from disadvantaged status, to safely discuss and be involved in the many areas of microbial and medical research during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fully virtual conferencing mode has been successfully adopted by scientific societies and researchers across the globe [5]. A new reality in which technology and sociality are merged may offer a more engaging and adaptable scientific congress experience with more flexible and dynamic use of content modulated to the needs of each attendee. This could mean that now may be a time to permanently change the paradigm [9]. In fact, some societies have already decided that they will not turn back to in-person meetings anymore [10].

There is some evidence that learning objectives appear to be better met via an in-person medical conference and didactic sessions, with no difference observed for workshops [11]. Teaching and learning have already transformed from being predominantly physical to virtual. As the pandemic gradually weans off, societies will have to decide if they opt to go back to in-person meetings, continue virtual learning, or try to find a hybrid sweet spot. A hybrid model would involve an in-person meeting with a woven-in virtual component [4].

Acknowledgments

None to declare.

Financial Disclosure

None to declare.

Conflict of Interest

None to declare.

Author Contributions

JC wrote the article.

Data Availability

The data supporting the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Clinical Infection and Immunity is published by Elmer Press Inc.