Making the most of scientific medical conferences: a practical guide for students and junior trainees

Attendance at scientific conferences is important for surgeons to expand their knowledge. For surgeons-in-training, specifically, most meetings offer dedicated trainee sessions. In addition, innovation is leading to new ways of learning in medicine, as we have already seen with social media platforms like YouTube and Twitter (1). We are facing a change in students' scientific development, in which new technologies can facilitate engagement in international projects (2) or access to online resources. These factors have had a positive impact on training and education. Additionally, the role of non-technical skills in surgery has also been recognized (3). Although online resources play an important role in medical education, physical attendance at medical conferences remains an essential pylon of medical education. This manuscript is designed as a guide to optimize the experience of attending a scientific meeting. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.