Behind the Scenes: The Making of a Conference

By Beth Gore, PhD | Executive Director

The DREAM Team

Have you ever wondered how we select our sessions for the Oley Annual Conference? Here’s a behind the scenes look at that process.

First, some historical perspective. For years, Oley had a selection process based on needs of the community, and the staff was primarily responsible for seeking qualified speakers on a needed topic. That worked for many years.

The Oley Board and staff decided we wanted to move into a new direction for selection. This year, we formed the DREAM Team, where “DREAM” stands for “Designing a Relevant and Engaging Annual Meeting.” The team is comprised of patients, caregivers, clinicians and members of industry. One of the team’s responsibilities is to select the conference sessions. Other responsibilities include advising on all things conference. Team members will also serve as volunteers during the conference. Overall, their primary job is to make sure the annual meeting is relevant and engaging.

Session Selection

This year, Oley sent out requests for session topic proposals. We sent the submission request to our entire email list, posted it on our social media platforms, and shared it with various partner groups, such as the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (ASPEN), National Home Infusion Association (NHIA), Association for Vascular Access (AVA), and more.

We are proud to say that Oley had submissions from patients/consumers, family members, clinicians, healthcare providers and members of industry. The DREAM Team was presented with every submission. Each submission was completely blinded so the decision for inclusion or exclusion could be made based on content alone. This means the entire team had zero identifiers by which to know anything about the submitter. The team carefully reviewed each submission and deliberated.

We had many more qualified submissions than available slots. What a great “problem” to have. Our challenge became deciding which to include and balancing why. For those we could not accept at this time, we discussed other ways we could use the topic or submission for Oley—after all, our needs are yearlong, not just conference week.

Emily, one of our DREAM Team members said, “We worked to choose the topics that are relevant right now in our community. But with so many great topics, the planning extended beyond this conference. We looked at the submissions and asked how to have it all. We discussed which topics were best addressed in person, which would work better online, and which would make great written articles. The goal wasn’t to leave topics out, but to find ways to share as much of the excellent information offered in the most accessible ways possible. One weekend just isn’t enough.”

This team lives day-to-day with nutrition support and supports others doing the same. Therefore, the conversation isn’t about ‘them.’ It’s about ‘us.’

—Emily