Growing A Career Through 20+ Years of AAAAI Annual Meetings
Annual Event Proves Invaluable at Every Stage of This Member’s A/I Journey
Jason Ohayon, MD, has been attending the AAAAI Annual Meetings since the late 1990's and had almost a perfect record until the pandemic hit and forced a three-year hiatus from the annual in-person event that provides unmatched professional development, research and networking.
“As the pandemic has humbled us as healthcare professionals, I look forward to and appreciate my time at AAAAI Annual Meetings even more. I have gained so much professionally and personally from attending. The AAAAI Annual Meeting provides a stimulating and socially pleasant experience that allows me to stay up to date as a clinician, researcher and connected to my professional colleagues.”
Dr. Ohayon will be among the thousands of allergy/immunology and other medical professionals making their way to San Antonio, TX for the 2023 AAAAI Annual Meeting, “Optimizing the Scope of Practice,” February 24 - 27.
As Dr. Ohayon’s career progressed, so did his AAAAI Annual Meeting experience. “Early in my career, I looked forward to the AAAAI Annual Meetings to help consolidate my knowledge on common and uncommon A/I conditions, helping gain confidence that the care I was providing was cutting edge and the best possible for my patients.”
Dr. Ohayon, like thousands of others do each year, took full advantage of the transformative educational opportunities offered at the AAAAI Annual Meeting. The variety of formats including workshops, lectures, pro/con debates and more, are designed to accommodate a range of learning styles. A full schedule of learning opportunities can be found in the Online Planner. The Annual Meeting mobile app provides an easy and convenient way for attendees to build their schedules.
In time, he started to approach the AAAAI Annual Meeting differently. “I dedicated more time to the posters section with a keen interest in learning about breakthrough therapies and about where current research was going in the A/I community,” he said. Later, as students joined his practice, Hamilton Allergy, “our office started contributing to research presented at the Annual Meeting. The submission of abstracts were led by student researchers who were proud to have had their work accepted for presentation.”
The opportunity to speak with authors about their cutting-edge clinical and translational research is a highlight for many attendees at the Annual Meeting. This year, the Exhibit Hall and Poster Hall will both open on Friday, February 24 and close Sunday evening, with the Featured Posters & Reception taking place Sunday, February 26 from 4:45 to 6:15 pm in the Convention Center, Lobby Level, Hall 2.
Networking opportunities have been another invaluable benefit of attending the Annual Meeting, Dr. Ohayon said. As he and his colleagues at Hamilton Allergy became more involved in clinical trials over the years, the AAAAI Annual Meetings have provided a venue for his office to network with other trialists to share experiences and insights. Dr. Ohayon has also been able to connect on a more personal level with colleagues from around the world. “Throughout my time at the AAAAI, its meetings have provided me the opportunity to connect socially with colleagues, such as those from the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology and Allergists For Israel. These connections have been invaluable to my social experiences at the AAAAI,” he said.
Continue reading to learn more about what you can expect at the 2023 AAAAI Annual Meeting, and be sure to read about our most popular social events.