When it comes to conferences, a practice as specialized as interventional radiology requires more than just a lecture with a few slides. For professional development, practitioners need extensive hands-on training. Understanding the need for conference attendees to learn in more intimate settings, the Society of Interventional Radiology has revamped its conference format to make its 40th Annual Scientific Meeting, in Atlanta this weekend, a more immersive experience.

Meeting organizers will introduce three new workshop formats—In-the-Classroom, In-the-Clinic, and the Hands-on Learning Lab—to provide attendees with comprehensive instruction relevant to their skill levels and areas of interest. Attendees can also focus on one of 16 educational pathways, including practice development, women’s health, and clinical care.

Accompanying Meet the Experts sessions will give attendees the opportunity to speak directly with industry authorities.

The Week Ahead

March 6-8: The National Ataxia Foundation’s 58th Annual Membership Meeting, in Denver, will group attendees in “Birds of a Feather” categories, based on age and condition, to create safe spaces in which people can talk about their experiences with the neurological disorder. Children can also play in an activity room while their families attend sessions about dealing with the condition.

March 6-8: Attendees of all religious backgrounds and perspectives are welcome at the 4th Annual Conference on Medicine and Religion, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to share their views on this year’s conference theme, “Spiritual Dimensions of Illness and Healing.” Attendees will also be able to connect at a number of preconference activities.

Down the Line

March 8-13: In the spirit of cross-cultural exchange, the Comparative and International Education Society‘s 2015 CIES Conference in Washington, DC, will be centered on the theme “Ubuntu! Imagining a Humanist Education Globally.” “This vision of humanist education is in harmony with Ubuntu,” conference organizers explain, “which inspires a multiplicity of worldviews, indigenous epistemologies, and ideological schools of thought in a world that is inclusive while fostering autonomy and humanity.”

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