The 2019 ACGME Annual Educational Conference was a remarkable event this year. A record 3,739 attendees gathered to learn, to network, and most importantly, to Rediscover Meaning in Medicine. We want to thank all of the speakers, poster presenters, awardees, other attendees, Board and Committee members, staff members, exhibitors, and other participants who helped make this another outstanding and successful year for the Annual Educational Conference.

John V. Pamula, MD, FACP, led a quality improvement project focused on reducing burnout and increasing well-being among its residents. His poster, Multipronged Strategies to Improve Wellbeing and Work-Life Balance of Residents, was presented at the 2019 Annual Educational Conference, Engaging Each Other: Rediscovering Meaning in Medicine.

With overdose as the leading cause of death for Americans under 50, it is imperative that the nation—including the entire medical community—take responsibility for its role in creating this epidemic and identify and enact strategies that can address it. This is Dr. Leana Wen’s position. The former Baltimore Health Commissioner and current president of Planned Parenthood spoke about the steps she and the City of Baltimore took to address opioid addiction in the community, and what role she sees physicians playing in solving this problem that is devastating the nation.

Dr. Jordan J. Cohen explored the evolution of medical education in his presentation, “Looking at the Road Ahead through the Rearview Mirror,” as the 2018 Marvin R. Dunn Keynote speaker at last month's Annual Educational Conference, offering his unique perspective as graduate medical education (GME) leader.

Jamie Dow, EdM, is assistant director for resident education and training at the University of Florida. Her poster, Mindfulness in Neurosurgery: Improving Neurosurgeon Wellness in Training and Beyond (with co-authors W. Christopher Fox, MD, Associate Program Director, University of Florida, and Gregory Murad, MD, Program Director, University of Florida), looked at wellness in neurosurgery, which Dow says “has traditionally been considered an oxymoron.” However, as priorities among neurological surgery residents evolve and the effects of physician burnout are increasingly recognized across specialties, life balance and overall well-being have become areas of emphasis and an opportunity for program improvement.

Dr. Hedy Wald of Boston Children’s Hospital-Harvard Medical School and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University was a first-time ACGME Annual Educational Conference attendee as a result of acceptance of her poster, Faculty Videos – An Innovation within Residency Resilience Skills Programs at Two Institutions, for presentation at the Poster Session. An avid social networker, she introduced herself to us at the Twitter Board on Thursday morning before the pre-conferences, and we continued the conversation throughout and after the conference. We asked Dr. Wald about her experience as a poster presenter and first-time attendee of our conference.

With pre-conferences, specialty sessions, plenaries, a keynote, the Exhibit Hall, poster sessions, awards, and networking on tap, the 2018 ACGME Annual Educational Conference has tons to offer!

We know it can be a lot to juggle, so to help you make the most of your experience, here’s a snapshot of some of what’s in store based on your program or institutional role or area of interest – call it a cheat sheet of sorts.