With the National Occupational Therapy conference just finished, there may be a few OTs out there with FOMO and regrets. If you are thinking “I should have gone to the conference!” and are planning to lock in a spot for yourself the next time around, here are my top 10 tips for heading to a conference.

1. GET THE EARLY BIRD DEAL

If you’re keen to go to a conference, make your decision early and get the early bird deal. It generally saves you a decent amount of money, and gives you something to look forward to. While you’re at it, also check out what other deals are available. Generally, if you are a member of whoever is hosting the conference, you’ll get a special “mates-rates” deal that may make signing-up to be a member well worth it.

2. THE CONFERENCE ACCOMMODATION “DEAL” MAY NOT BE THE BEST DEAL FOR YOU

Usually the conference organisers will work out some deals with accommodation providers close to the conference venue. While these rooms are generally quite fancy and special, and you may want to treat yourself while you’re away, they generally aren’t the most cost-effective option if you’re on a tight budget. So just FYI, you don’t have to go with one of the accommodation deals offered by the conference organisers; it is perfectly fine to do your own search and stay somewhere that you find on Booking.com or Airbnb.

3. BRING SOME SUPPLIES FOR AN UPSET STOMACH!

Ok, sounds a bit weird and apologies if you’re reading this while eating a meal, but the truth is it is not uncommon to get an upset stomach at a conference. The combination of a new water supply (if you’ve travelled to attend), bulk-produced buffet food (as tasty as it is!), plenty of people-mingling (which means more germs in the air) and feeling a little nervous (especially if you’re presenting), may all lead to spending more time in the bathroom than you would like to. So you’re not stuck trying to find a chemist while you’re feeling unwell, bring some medication supplies with you!

4. LEAVE YOUR NOTEBOOKS AND PENS AT HOME

Even if you’re old school and like to take lots of notes while watching conference presentations, you don’t need to pack an excessive amount of notebooks and pens. At every conference I’ve ever attended, there has been an extensive range of notebooks and pens to choose from – all you need to do is visit the exhibitor section (usually located with the food!) and take your pick!

5. PREPARE YOURSELF FOR SWEARING AND INNUENDO

You may think that all presentations at a health conference would be prim and proper, with no chance of hearing bad language. Instead, what you’ll find is that conferences are learning experiences intended for adults, and one way to engage adult audiences is with the occasional swear word or cheeky joke to show your personality or passion about a topic. I’m not suggesting this is what you have to be doing, but just prepare yourself if it’s something you’re not expecting!

6. TAKING PHOTOS OF PRESENTATIONS IS ALLOWED

Unless stated otherwise, it is usually fine to take photos of any presentation slides that you find particularly helpful, rather than trying to hand-write pages of notes. If you want to get really fancy, a trick many people use is to take the photo on their tablet/iPad and drag and drop it directly into the notes they were typing while watching. If you’d prefer to immerse yourself in the moment, another option is to check if the conference provides access to recordings of the presentations, so you can go back and take notes at your own pace later on (e.g. delegates for the OT conference are able to access online versions of the presentations following the conference).

7. YOU ARE NOT BEING WEIRD IF YOU ASK A STRANGER TO TAKE YOUR PHOTO!

If you put in some hard work and are able to present your work at a conference (firstly – well done!), it is perfectly reasonable to ask a complete random in the room to take your photo while you are presenting so that you have proof of your achievement. Hopefully you’ll have someone in the crowd who you know, but if not, for OT conferences in particular, everyone is super friendly and even the session chair is usually happy to take a snapshot for you if needed.

8. DON’T GET FOOD AND DRINK AT THE SAME TIME

Pretty much all conferences are setup so that the food served in the breaks is something you can stand-up and nibble on while walking, and hopefully chatting with the exhibitors. But, don’t make the rookie error of trying to enjoy food and drink at the same time – there’s generally few places to sit and eat at a table, and it is almost impossible to hold a coffee, and a plate, and eat with a fork all at the same time. Make your life easy and eat then drink, or become friends with one of the exhibitors and steal the corner of their table 😉

9. PLAN YOUR DAY IN ADVANCE

Most conferences will have plenary sessions, where everyone is together to hear a keynote speaker in a big theatre-style room, but then there are also lots of concurrent sessions, where presentations are running simultaneously in different rooms. This is where you need to get savvy with your planning so you don’t miss out on the things you want to see, as there can be multiple sessions to choose from (e.g. the OT conference had 8 sessions running concurrently!). Read through the program the night before at the latest and highlight the talks you definitely want to see. Remember often presentations are recorded but workshops aren’t, so if there are two things on at the same time that you’re interested in, go to the in-person workshop and watch a recording of the presentation later. Also factor in time to travel between rooms as sometimes the walk can take a couple of minutes!

10. BE GRATEFUL AND APPRECIATIVE

Be grateful and appreciative of the amazing learning opportunity you have been given by attending a conference. Don’t be shy to go up to the presenters at the end of the session and thank them for their presentation or ask more questions – we love it! If you are lucky enough to have your employer pay for you to attend, don’t skip half a day of the conference and go on a sneaky shopping trip instead – plan some time either side of the conference for that. Finally, once you’re back, reflect on your key take home messages and share them with your team. If there was something that inspired you to change your practice, make an action plan to implement the change and start some small steps straight away so it doesn’t get forgotten. If you’d like to see my take-home messages from this year’s OT conference, you can check out this post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/clare-batkin_my-top-5-take-home-messages-from-otaus2023-activity-7080696512921403392-1PbG?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Feeling inspired to come along to a conference? I’d highly recommend coming to the OT Exchange in Perth next June – this conference is designed for clinicians and is a perfect opportunity to find out about great OT work, as well as share your own projects. Join the mailing list here so you’ll be updated when key dates are announced: https://www.otausevents.com.au/otexchange2024/

If you’ve got any questions about attending a conference feel free to ask them in the comments or send me a direct message. If you’re a seasoned conference attendee, then please share your own conference tips in the comments!

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