Sarah May, Deputy Chief Executive at the IBMS, looks at the new sessions that have been added to this year’s Congress.
The updated Congress programme is launched this month and contains even more lectures and seminars than previously. For those who want to make the most of every minute that they spend at Congress, a number of programmes will start at 8.15am.
These early sessions offer the opportunity for joint and multi-discipline presentations. Regarding our Wednesday Quality Management programme, the early start was the only way we could cover everything we wanted to offer you in terms of content.
Exhibition hall seminars
The informal 30-minute seminars that are a popular feature, usually held in one of our lecture halls, have now grown to occupy a full three-day programme. These sessions cover a range of topics that are relevant to scientists of all specialisms and, therefore, may not fit in to a particular lecture programme.
Alternatively, it may be something so new that the main lecture programme was already full, so we have taken the opportunity to showcase it in our seminar programme.
Once again, we have invited biomedical scientist members of the armed forces, who will speak on delivering pathology services in a military context, to appear on the Wednesday.
Also on Wednesday there will be a presentation from Malcolm Robinson, the biomedical scientist founder of the Harvey’s Gang charity that helps children with cancer to understand why all the blood tests are needed and what happens to their blood in the laboratory.
Health Education England is aware of the unique opportunity provided by Congress to interact with large numbers of biomedical scientists so, in addition to the molecular pathology presentations within the main lecture programme, it has requested taking two of the exhibition hall seminar sessions, in order to use every opportunity to tell our delegates about the progress of the 100,000 Genomes Project and its implications for pathology.
Introducing technology
During the Monday afternoon, a full programme of seminars will be given by some companies exhibiting at Congress that want to showcase their latest innovations.
These seminars are an opportunity for delegates to have an in-depth insight into the development and application of some of the new technologies available and to hear the views of other users.
Practical microscopy workshops
Don’t forget to call the Congress helpline on 01892 779990 to book a place at one of the practical microscopy workshops, as places are limited.
Sunday afternoon will provide a timed workshop of 40 cytopathology cases consisting of urines, effusions and respiratory samples. This will be followed by a review of all the cases that will show the areas of interest and their diagnostic features.
On Monday afternoon we are offering a practical andrology preparation and microscopy workshop. This guided practical will take participants through the theory and practicalities of correct pipetting, counting and assessment of motility and morphology. Once again, these places are strictly limited and places must be booked.
