How to Choose the Right Quality Improvement Conference

Why This Topic Matters

Quality Improvement is a continuous journey, and staying abreast of best practices, emerging methodologies, and successful interventions is crucial for effective change. Conferences serve as vital platforms for this learning and exchange. For junior doctors and trainees, presenting QI work can be a key component of their curricula, particularly for ARCPs, and offers a chance to gain feedback and build a professional network.

For established clinicians and QI leads, conferences provide opportunities to showcase organisational achievements, learn from peers facing similar challenges, and influence wider practice. In an NHS context where resources and time are precious, making an informed choice ensures that attendance yields maximum benefit, both for individual development and organisational improvement.

Practical Explanation: Defining Your Objectives

The first step in choosing a QI conference is to clearly define what you hope to achieve. This will guide your selection process and ensure your investment of time and resources is well-spent. Consider the following:

Learning Objectives

• Specific QI methodologies: Are you interested in a deep dive into specific tools like statistical process control (SPC), Lean, Six Sigma, or Human Factors engineering?
• Clinical specialism: Do you want to see QI applied within your specific clinical area (e.g., paediatrics, emergency medicine, primary care)?
• System-level change: Are you looking for insights into large-scale system transformation, integrated care, or population health QI?
• Leadership and culture: Is your focus on developing QI leadership skills, fostering a culture of improvement, or overcoming implementation barriers?

Dissemination Objectives

• Sharing your work: Do you want to present your completed QI project, work in progress, or early findings?
• Feedback and networking: Are you seeking constructive critique on your project, or aiming to connect with experts and potential collaborators?
• Portfolio and publication: Is your goal to add a presentation to your professional portfolio, gain experience for future publications, or meet training requirements?
• Influence and impact: Do you want to share lessons learned with a wider audience to influence practice beyond your immediate team?

Practical Considerations

• Cost: Registration fees, travel, and accommodation can vary significantly. Are there bursaries available? Can your department or trust provide funding?
• Time commitment: How much time can you realistically dedicate? A one-day local event or a multi-day international conference?
• Location and accessibility: Is the conference easily accessible, and does it fit with your personal and professional commitments?
• Format: In-person, virtual, or hybrid? Each has different benefits for engagement and networking.

Common Pitfalls

Choosing a conference without clear objectives can lead to disappointment and wasted resources. Common pitfalls include:

• Attending for attendance's sake: Simply going because a colleague is, or because it's local, without considering relevance.
• Overspending: Opting for expensive, high-profile events when a more focused, affordable conference might better meet specific needs.
• Misalignment of content: Discovering the conference themes or speakers don't match your specific QI interests or project focus.
• Lack of networking: Failing to engage actively, leading to a missed opportunity for valuable connections.
• Underestimating preparation: Not allowing enough time to prepare an abstract or presentation, leading to a rushed or suboptimal submission.
• Ignoring local opportunities: Overlooking valuable regional or specialist society meetings in favour of larger, national events.

Step-by-Step Approach to Conference Selection

1. Define Your Goals: As outlined above, articulate clearly what you want to achieve from attending or presenting.
2. Research Conference Options:
   • National QI bodies: Look at conferences organised by the Royal Colleges, NHS England, local Academic Health Science Networks (AHSNs), and specialist QI organisations like the Q community.
   • Specialist societies: Many clinical specialities (e.g., RCGP, RCPCH, RCEM) have annual conferences that include dedicated QI tracks or sessions.
   • Local and regional events: Your trust, integrated care system (ICS), or local university may host smaller, more focused QI events.
   • International options: For advanced learning or specific niche topics, consider conferences by organisations like the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) or the BMJ Quality & Safety conference.
3. Review Call for Abstracts/Programmes: Once you have a shortlist, examine past programmes and calls for abstracts for upcoming events. This will give you a strong indication of the conference's scope, themes, and typical audience.
   • Keywords: Do the session titles and abstract themes align with your work or learning interests?
   • Speaker profiles: Are there experts in your field or leaders whose work you admire?
   • Presentation formats: Are you looking for oral presentations, poster sessions, workshops, or symposia?
4. Consider the Audience: Who typically attends this conference? Is it primarily trainees, senior clinicians, managers, or a mix? This influences the level of discussion and networking opportunities.
5. Evaluate Practicalities: Check dates, location, cost, and logistics. Factor in time for abstract writing (if presenting) and travel arrangements.
6. Seek Peer and Supervisor Advice: Discuss your options with colleagues, mentors, or your QI lead. They may have valuable insights or experience with particular conferences.
7. Plan Your Engagement: Once selected, plan how you will maximise your attendance. If presenting, allow ample time for abstract submission and presentation preparation. If attending, identify key sessions and networking opportunities in advance.

Example in Clinical Practice

Dr. Anya Sharma, a ST4 in General Practice, has recently completed a QI project focused on reducing inappropriate antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infections in her practice. She needs to present this work for her ARCP and wants to learn more about behaviour change interventions in primary care.

Her process would look like this:

1. Goals: Present her project, get feedback, add to portfolio, learn about behaviour change QI in primary care.
2. Research: She looks at:
   • RCGP Annual Conference: Often has a strong QI stream, directly relevant to primary care.
   • Primary Care Home/PCN Network events: More locally focused, good for networking with other GPs.
   • QI conferences (e.g., NHS QI Conference, Q Community Annual Event): Broader QI scope but may have primary care examples.
   • Antimicrobial Stewardship conferences: Highly specialised, might be too narrow for her broader learning goal.
3. Review Programmes: She examines the RCGP conference programme from the previous year and notes several sessions on 'sustainable primary care' and 'optimising prescribing', with specific QI case studies. The call for abstracts explicitly welcomes primary care QI projects. A smaller local PCN event has a more informal 'show and tell' format.
4. Audience: RCGP conference attracts a wide range of GPs, practice nurses, and primary care managers. The PCN event would be mainly local GPs and practice staff.
5. Practicalities: The RCGP conference is a 3-day event in London, requiring travel and accommodation, but her department has a study budget for presentations. The PCN event is a half-day, local, and free.
6. Decision: Anya decides to submit an abstract to the RCGP Annual Conference. It offers a higher profile platform for her presentation, excellent networking with a national primary care audience, and dedicated sessions on behaviour change and QI methodology. She also plans to attend the local PCN event, which provides a lower-stakes opportunity to practice her presentation and connect with local colleagues. She discusses her choice with her training programme director, who approves the study leave and budget.

How Lazomis Can Help

Lazomis supports your QI journey from inception to dissemination. Our tools can assist you in preparing for conference presentations and understanding the impact of your work:

• Lazomis QI Project Setup: Organise your project data, aims, and methodology, making it easier to extract key information for abstract submissions.
• Lazomis Reporting & Visualisation: Create clear, impactful charts and graphs (e.g., run charts, SPC charts) that are presentation-ready, enhancing the visual appeal and clarity of your posters and oral presentations.
• Lazomis Evidence Library: Access structured summaries of QI methodologies and successful interventions, which can inform your presentation's 'discussion' section and help you articulate the broader implications of your work.
• Lazomis Peer Review & Feedback (upcoming): Use structured templates for internal review of your abstract or presentation before submission, helping you refine your message and ensure it meets submission criteria.

These features streamline the process of preparing high-quality, evidence-informed presentations, allowing you to focus on the content and delivery that will make your conference attendance truly impactful.

Key Takeaways

• Clearly define your learning and dissemination goals before selecting a QI conference.
• Research national, specialist, and local events to find the best fit for your objectives.
• Review conference programmes, calls for abstracts, and audience profiles carefully.
• Factor in practicalities such as cost, time commitment, location, and format.
• Seek advice from supervisors and peers to inform your decision.
• Maximise your conference experience by actively planning your attendance and presentation.

This resource supports, but does not replace, clinical judgement. Local policy, formulary and specialist advice should be followed.