Summary

GI for GPs is an annual course offering robust and impactful learnings to Alberta’s General Practitioners. For the past 18 years, gastroenterologists from the University of Alberta Hospital and other sites in Edmonton have developed the course with the goal of enabling GPs to better serve their patient populations and to bridge the relationships between GPs and gastroenterologists. BUKSA has helped produce the course for years and was excited to pivot the event back to a live format after its previous virtual format throughout the pandemic.

Our Role

The BUKSA team was tasked with providing full-service project management for this conference, including managing committee planning sessions, administering finances, and creating detailed final reports. The client required full accreditation for the course, so our team managed the entire accreditation process from application through to execution of accreditation requirements. We managed the course website to produce a comprehensive hub for conference information and promotional materials.

Our team led venue selection and logistics management to make sure the event was seamlessly executed onsite. We also managed the sponsorship process, performing sponsor outreach, distributing sponsorship prospectuses, and liaising with sponsors to ensure benefit follow-through. We provided speaker, program, and registration management, training speakers ahead of time and providing customer service prior to the event. Finally, we fully staffed the event days, welcoming attendees, distributing conference materials, and overseeing the run-of-show.

Value Add

Accreditation Management

Accreditation allows doctors and other practicing medical professionals to maintain their certifications, designations, and more. Accredited programs and events grant Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits to attendees which are required to maintain their designation. Thus, it was crucial for our client to make sure their 2022 course was fully accredited.

Our team managed the accreditation process from start to finish. As experts in accreditation, we understand the nuances and requirements to ensure a smooth accreditation process and can integrate the accreditation needs from the planning onset to event execution. 

An accreditation package is robust, including not only the actual application but all the additional requirements including Conflict of Interest forms, needs assessments, evaluations, topic explanations, sponsor details, and much more. Not only is this process thorough, it is also completed under a tight timeline: the course must be accredited before it can proceed and to allow for sufficient time to communicate it to attendees who are planning to register.

Our team successfully completed the accreditation application well ahead of the event and were glad to receive acceptance from the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Alberta Chapter. We were happy to be able to grant CME credits to all attendees in the form of personalized certificates of attendance.

Safe and Efficient Meetings

The client put the utmost importance on creating an event environment that was safe and welcoming for everyone. As such, our team worked hard during the planning process to implement all the necessary pieces for this event to be as safe and enjoyable as possible.

All the event staff and attendees were encouraged to wear masks on-site. In the event of sickness, we kindly encouraged registrants to not attend. The space was open and inviting and had ample spacing between tables and chairs. The food selection was carefully prepared such that each attendee had their own packaged and custom bento-box lunch. The buffet was not missed at this event, as attendees were able to swiftly grab their lunch and return to their seats – no standing in line required. Attendees loved that this method allowed for more socialization and actual lunch time during the break. Our team was pleased that the sessions and lunch break ran smoothly and efficiently and had no immediate safety concerns.

Interactive Workshops

Interactivity is a key component of this course and vital for attendees to meet in small groups with GI specialists. The program was formatted with snappy lectures followed by small group workshops where attendees reviewed relevant cases with a GI Specialist. These small groups of 12-15 allow for attendees to practice applying their new learnings, ask questions to an expert, and solidify how the course content is relevant to their practice.

We rotated the group members for each of the 7 workshops during the day so they could learn from each other and network. Our detailed planning meant that the workshops were executed seamlessly: AV was provided to ensure flow of delivery and facilitators were selected based on expertise to make the case studies accessible.