Back in the real world

Today was my first day back at work and to be quite honest it's gone okay. 

I would just like to finish this particular blog with a thank you to both the warm and welcoming people I met in St Louis and to IMI for the opportunity to attend. 

If they run the exchange next year, you'd be a fool not to apply.

update sunday 21st

Well unfortunately the fight for the computers at the business suite in the hotel has left me without an entry for some time.

Consider this a catch-up entry...

I can't believe it's nearly all over, we took the shuttle bus for the last time to Logan university,, where there was a mixed bag of presentations for us. The keynote speaker for today unfortunately didn't present his programmed topic and left me at least, a little bewildered.

In contrast, Dr C Klimczak engaged us all when he asked what challenges we faced in our work as medical communicators. He was inundated with comments and barely touched the surface in his 50 minute slot. 

The lovely Jim Huff, donned a luminescent vest and hard hat for his lecture, You want to move what? A myriad of other speakers filled the afternoon and our very own Paul Crompton wrapped up proceedings with his visual display, how do photographic images move from scientific document to a work of art?

So now it's PARTY TIME!

A wonderful array of awards presented for videos, web and printed media, as well as 2 special awards, one of which Kathy was surprised to, but deservedly receive, the other to Keven Siegert. The revelry continued into the early hours of the morning and much fun was had by all.

Friday

An exceptional Keynote speech and Workshop delivered by Lee Aase of the Mayo Clinic started proceedings. Detailing the use of social media (blogs, Facebook, Twitter, You Tube etc.) in health care, I've now got plenty of ideas as Lee conveyed the whole concept of social media for health care with such clarity that I can't believe we aren't using this essentially free marketing platform to promote services already.

A couple of futher addresses on Moodle (a virtual conferencing platform) and developing a distance learning environment later and we're back at the Hotel to soak up a little sun before the auction this evening.

Thursday part 2

The shuttle picked us up early for breakfast at Logan college. The programme for the day was jam packed with content, the theme for the day being "Creating Usable Web Experiences". David Poteet kicked off with the key note address "Web Usability: The Strategic Value of the User Experience". We were posed with two questions - what is the user experience? and who makes it?

David went on to answer these questions and illustrate how research into a user demographic ultimately decides what content should be available and how it is organised. This was further illustrated in the "Blah, Blah" workshop in the afternoon using the KJ method of brainstorming (more in the report).

The Nursing Channel presentation by Catherine Johnson was something that both Angus and I can both see being beneficial in the UK. In brief, it contained 14 video clips of real nurse experience used for recruitment and practice development. I can see this being a great tool for engaging students at health fairs and trust AGMs.

Whilst the majority of the attendee's went to the Gateway Arch, I ended the evening in the 90 degree heat of the Busch stadium for the ball game. Fantastic!

Thursday part one

Apologies for the delay in this my latest blog, but things have been hectic. The registration meeting was a fantastic get together with lots of people from across America and Canada, not to mention back home.

There's a real wealth of knowledge and ideas to feed from here and I think any department would gain from sending a representative. I've already got ideas for new and interesting ways my department might benefit and thats all before the lectures had started.

On top of this the people are fantasticly friendly and a great bunch to socialise with. The meeting spilled over well into the night when a group of us taxied to the "world famous" Dave's Bar and Grill. Lots of conversation and games ensued, so I couldn't wait for the actual conference to begin.

Today's activities will be posted soon as I need chance to digest and I have a ball game to go to.

Touchdown St Louis

My first official entry on US soil.

First a little update...

Alarm bell resounding at 4.30am on the 16th June, it was a pleasure to get the journery underway. From Manchester a silky smooth flight over the Atlantic to America's windy city Chicago and a chaotic transfer (due to delays in customs we missed our connecting flight, its worth bearing in mind giving yourself at least 3 hours between connections), saw us touch down in the bright sunlight of St Louis at 4.55pm local time.

At the Marriott West (the mainstay of my trip) I was greeted by Angus and Kathy and a whole host of other new names and friendly faces that I hope to become better acquainted with over the course of my stay.

And now for today...

The town of St Louis is home to the Gateway Arch, the Cardinals baseball team and many blues/jazz bars, so I've been reliably informed. As today I have some time for a little exploration, I plan to find out just what St Louis has to offer.

I'll fill you all in on today's registration event in a later blog.

All packed and ready to go. Flying out tomorrow which will give me a chance to check out the location and get settled in before the conference starts. Hopefully there will be some information available up front that I can blog on tomorrow.

All I have to do now is relax and wait for my 5.30am taxi!