Note from the Associate Editorial Director: So many opportunities to ENGAGE at ACDIS 2020

By Melissa Varnavas

Most of you have received the ACDIS 2020 conference brochure in your mailbox over the past week or so. We hope that its arrival caused as much excitement for you as it did for us. (Yes, we seriously were clapping and cheering in the office when it arrived. We’re geeky like that.)

Within its pages, there’s information about our three pre-conference events focused on physician advisors, CDI managers/directors, and outpatient efforts. It includes details about this year’s educational tracks including a new track devoted to denials management and physician engagement. It explains three new types of sessions—lightning rounds, split sessions, and panel discussions—designed to bring greater diversity and information to the stage. It provides an easy to follow look at the entire agenda.

It also explores this year theme, Engage, too. “Connecting with a like-minded group of peers is one of the greatest rewards of belonging to a professional association and attending events like the ACDIS conference,” ACDIS Director Brian Murphy explains in the brochure. “When you engage with others you expand your horizons.”

The ACDIS conference has always been about engagement. It’s about engaging with your co-workers, colleagues, peers, and some of the most amazing and thought-provoking professionals in the industry. Perhaps most importantly, it’s about you. It’s about you taking that extra step to understand your profession a little bit deeper, to see your daily job not as a series of tasks to be accomplished but a career to cultivate, nurture, grow, and engage.

We’ll have more than 100 speakers for you to learn from come May 5-8, in lovely Las Vegas. But there are still several ways for you to engage a bit more.

The call for poster presentations went out a few weeks ago and there is plenty of room for you to share your CDI story in this venue, too. For those unfamiliar, the poster presentations are a conference within a conference. They are an amazing way to share ideas and program initiatives in an easy-to-digest format. Presenters agree to discuss their topics with passers-by during dedicated networking break times during the conference.

You can view last year’s posters for ideas on the ACDIS website. Submit your application via this online survey by Thursday, February 20. All submissions will be reviewed by the 2020 Conference Committee and decisions rendered by Friday, February 28. Those selected will be eligible for $200 off conference registration.

And the nomination period is now open for the ACDIS Achievement Awards. These four awards—Professional of the Year, Recognition of CDI Professional Achievement, Excellence in Provider Engagement, and Rookie of the Year—are bestowed annually to those who have made measurable improvements in their organizations and have gone above and beyond to advance best practices in CDI.

This year we’ve simplified the nomination process so anyone can nominate their peers by simply answering seven simple questions about your nominee. Just need to collect your thoughts about your peer and tell us why you think they're great! The nomination should only take about five minutes.

The ACDIS 2020 Conference Committee will review all the nominations and select finalists. At that point, you’ll be asked to spill the beans and let your colleagues know about their nomination allowing them to submit additional details for evaluation. We know there are amazing people across the country doing groundbreaking work in the field and we can't wait to honor them! The deadline to submit nominations is Friday, February 28.

We hope that you’re getting as excited as we are! If you have any questions about the agenda or need help submitting your poster idea or award nomination feel free to shoot me an email. I’m more than happy to engage with you.

Editor’s note: Varnavas is the associate editorial director of events at ACDIS. Contact her at mvarnavas@acdis.org