Ironically, I was the lowest tech prepared there. I have NEVER used Wi-Fi or had a wireless card or router, so I was unable to access the Internet.
These aren't excuses or complaints just some FYIs which may help you put some of these comments in perspective.
First, during the entire conference, I was freezing. Not cold, literally uncomfortable to the point that I went back to my room and crawled into bed rather than listen to a couple of talks I really wanted to listen to. But, without a sweatshirt or coat, I couldn't sit there.
Second, while there was a lot of planning for the conference, all of it was done via conference calls. We would all discuss what we thought we make good lectures -- all while meeting the restrictions of the CME
-- (and I should say Jim did a great job with that and the conference)then go back during the week to work on them separate from our co-presenter. In retrospect, at least for me, it would be more cohesive if one topic was handled by one person.
I, personally, was petrified of being a presenter in any fashion. I was still working on my talk(s) until 4 am Thursday morning. I did realize that my backup talk was probably going to be too high tech, but it's hard for me, because I am very excited and passionate about technology. I was completely unaware of how much time I spent (on the exact talk itself -- it definitely didn't feel like an hour -- again from the first slide). I think, given some of the complexity, being able to slow down and go through each slide or even having time to decide which slide or slides could be skipped would have made the talk a little better. I am going to upload them along with comments.
Again, in retrospect, I would have skipped the VMWare demonstration and even the backup/restore and concentrated on the programs and Volume Shadow Services giving you the previous versions. But, given I think virtual machines, are the coolest thing ever, I wanted to share that with everyone.
Getting back to the overall general conference, I sort of thought the questions for the "panel" were going to be more general, and there would be more emphasis on the "expert's" information. Instead, it sort of digressed into "I try to do this or that, and Jon learning about another bug.
I agree that the breakout sessions' overlapping with some good talks was frustrating. I ended up spending the entire hour helping one couple, but it was very rewarding, especially going from start to finish. With the Wi-Fi working, together we were able to register for prescription writing capabilities which was also a testament to how smooth Jon has made that. That was very exciting. (It doesn't take much to excite me)
Another few FYIs. Version 5 has not been out that long. Some of us have been using it less than a month. It is much more complicated than any of the previous versions, and I think that led to some of the confusion. In v4 and prior versions, I think I would have felt comfortable with 90% or more of questions. With v5, maybe 25%. I felt just as lost as any blue dot or yellow dot or whatever dot.
It's also a shame that as doctors or those who work for or with doctors, most feel they can only afford to take two or three days off. A conference starting on Wednesday rather than Friday with more time to sight see would solve a lot of the problems, but alas, none of us can afford it.
Finally, and this came up in the conference calls many times, the first conference was around 90 people and was more intimate. No one had any expectations, etc. This conference had over 225 people, and I think that took away a little of that.
So, from my viewpoint, I think that caused some of the above issues. And, I think if I had been better prepared, the conference would have been better. That was my fault.
But, overall, the conference was great. I learned a ton from it, and I also learned that the Rolodex is intermittently buggy. I think I will work on that one.
