Attending Conference: Practitioner/Professor Perspective

Marissa Dastice

Ciara Brabant: What was your first conference experience like?

Marissa Dastice: I attended my first conference when I was still an OT student at Midwestern and presented on behalf of my research group during the poster presentation. Attending conferences was a wonderful experience to be around like-minded professionals. It gave me the opportunity to interact and network with OTs in a variety of settings.

Ciara Brabant: Why do you believe it is important for OT students to attend conferences?

Marissa Dastice: I think it is important for students to attend conference to get a deeper understanding of what the OT profession has to offer. The various courses and poster presentations allow students to gain more knowledge on various content areas. The vendor expo is a great way to see the various types of equipment and assistive technologies that may be limited in academia. By attending conference students will also be exposed to various companies and can help when seeking an employment opportunity. Students also have the opportunity to submit work they’ve done to present at conference which is a great opportunity to enhance their resume with presentations at the professional level.

Ciara Brabant: How has attending the conference impacted your professional career?

Marissa Dastice: As a student and within the first year of my career I was able to present at both the state and national level. Those opportunities enhanced my curriculum vitae and aided in demonstrating my commitment to the profession. In addition, I was able to connect and network with various OTs in a variety of setting to help expand my lens on occupational therapy. Finally, through the vendor expositions, I was able to learn about equipment and technologies that were not integrated into my clinical setting at that time.

Ciara Brabant: How do you approach networking at conferences, as a professional OT?

Marissa Dastice: Often times lectures break out into group activities which gives clinicians the opportunity to interact with one another. By attending the same lecture or course, there is already a common ground to discuss. At the end of a course, I have also connected with the lecturer on any questions I have or ask for additional references. During the vendor exposition, I visited booths that are specific to my interests in clinical growth. Sometimes it is also a matter of getting comfortable with the uncomfortable and sit next to others you are unfamiliar with and start by introducing yourself.

Ciara Brabant: How does attending a conference benefit a student's learning experience in the classroom?

Marissa Dastice: Attending a conference can enhance a student’s learning experience in a multitude of ways. First, the various courses can provide a deeper understanding of the content taught in academia in a more formal practical way. Some courses break out into labs and/or small group discussions exposing students to OT in the clinic setting. Students will learn how to network and interact with other professionals. Lastly, they will be exposed to potentially new equipment and technologies enhancing their toolbox of assessments and interventions.

Mark Kovic

Ciara Brabant: What was your first conference experience like?

Mark Kovic: Exciting! I attended with colleagues so I would know somebody and yet as it turned out, I realized that there were many people there who all knew each other.

It showed me both how big and how small our OT family is~

Ciara Brabant: Why do you believe it is important for OT students to attend conferences?

Mark Kovic: There are always reasons that are quite tangible such as presentations, meetings, and leadership roles if you are involved at that level.

Yet, to me, the serendipity of it all, the not knowing what you will learn or even the connections you make that may lead to this or that!

Ciara Brabant: How has attending the conference impacted your professional career?

Mark Kovic: In many positive ways,

One example was when I attended the WFOT Congress in Santiago, Chile in 2010.

I met the Brazil OT association President. He and I stayed connected and then reconnected again in Yokohama, Japan at WFOT 2014.

He attended my presentations in both places about my stewardship in Ecuador. He invited me to present this at the Brazil OT Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This led to a discussion which led to an invitation to collaborate in similar endeavors in Belem, Brazil.

By 2016-2017 we planned a research study and received funding from WFOT in 2018.

We published the results of this study and expanded the opportunities for citizens and the options for OT graduates in the last 1-2 years.

Another example was when I attended a presentation related to AOTA volunteering à long story short ~ I ended up as part of the program I attended and co-led the group for a period of time.

Ciara Brabant: How do you approach networking at conferences, as a professional OT?

Mark Kovic: Good question. No one easy go to answer.

For me, it works best when I plan my courses, presentations, and meetings, and then plan networking around that – even though the passing by somebody can happily turn into something –

And so this historically has been over a meal and then that may allow for groups of people to attend.

Sometimes it is merely a plan for a plan, much less involved usually than the Brazil example, yet nonetheless, making the formal connection and go from there.

Ciara Brabant: How does attending a conference benefit a student's learning experience in the classroom?

Mark Kovic: It is related to the course in question, however, the reality is that attending something may end up validating a deeper understanding of content learned in the classroom, it may lead to more questions, you may even meet the author of publications and ask questions. On one level, it is easy to say just attend, yet the reality is that it is not always that straightforward. Nonetheless, I would point to my experiences as possibilities, and if you connect beforehand and plan such as with your colleagues or faculty (a mentor for example) then you can strategize. The aforementioned intangibles are some of my best experiences both when I Was a student attending conferences and at other times.

Monika Robinson

Ciara Brabant: What was your first conference experience like?

Monika Robinson: I remember being a new practitioner and being so impressed by the commitment of the ILOTA members and appreciating seeing former fieldwork clinical educators since I was a recent graduate. I valued the type of sessions that were offered, but honestly, what I didn’t expect was how much I valued being able to network and learn from others informally through sidebar conversations and getting to meet new people.

Ciara Brabant: Why do you believe it is important for OT students to attend conferences?

Monika Robinson: I believe it is important to develop other new professional relationships outside of the classroom setting, and ILOTA conferences were essential in helping me build these relationships. It did feel a little intimidating at first to connect with people outside of my immediate circle but it has so enriched my professional life. I think students have such a great opportunity to have one on one conversations with so many of the influential IL OT practitioners. Matter of fact, just recently, I had conversation with a student who stated they developed a friendship with another student from a different program and how great their relationship has been in supporting each other and sharing their mutual as well as different experiences as a student---they found additional supports through each other to help them navigate the OT education process.

Ciara Brabant: How has attending the conference impacted your professional career?

Monika Robinson: Attending ILOTA conferences has enhanced my professional life tremendously. It has been fabulous developing these relationships and many have deepened over the decades—this has created such meaningful experiences and opportunities for me to grow professionally. I find that to some degree, attending the state level conferences have more benefits than the national since you are engaging with people you work with and interact with on a more frequent basis. Also, of great significance, it is a THE place to get updated and learn about local state practice changes and legislation that affects not only us as practitioners, but our consumers.

Ciara Brabant: How do you approach networking at conferences, as a professional OT?

Monika Robinson: I approach networking with an open heart and open mind. I open myself up to meeting new people through mutual acquaintances, allow myself to learn about different practice settings, and expose myself to interacting with people who have wide range of practice interests. It is so fulfilling to follow up with new acquaintances after conference and to get started on projects that involve mutual interests—that has been a very rewarding aspect of attending conference.

Ciara Brabant: How does attending a conference benefit a student's learning experience in the classroom?

Monika Robinson: I think students get to see practitioners walk the talk and maybe even meet people they have read about or heard about their work in the classroom, they can have more in-depth conversations with them and maybe seek greater clarification or understanding about a topic. I have had conversations with students after conference who state they were so impressed by speakers innovative practices, and they are able to see that this is possible and isn’t just a classroom concept—that it is real possibility to break out and do something different, it makes it seem more achievable. I also have witnessed students maybe viewing their classroom content with a different appreciation as they begin to see the relevance to what they are learning and how it translates to practice—that is always fun—it creates a new level of engagement which I love!