The Southern Regional Meeting of the Society of General Internal Medicine (SSGIM) took place February 13 to February 15, 2020, in New Orleans, LA. Our own Drs. David Edelman and Nia S. Mitchell attended and engaged in academic mentoring. The southern region includes Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and West Virginia.
Edelman and Mitchell were active participants.
- They were part of a workshop entitled, “Is GIM Fellowship Right for You?” where they presented with colleagues from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Medical University of South Carolina.
- They provided feedback to two researchers at a "Works in Progress" session.
- Dr. Edelman, during an individual mentoring session, counseled a junior faculty member who is a full-time clinician-educator interested in a research career.
- Dr. Mitchell co-moderated one of the oral abstract sessions.
This small regional meeting provided unique opportunity.
Sessions at the regional meeting are similar to those at the national meeting. These included clinical updates, clinical vignettes, poster sessions, and workshops. The medical Jeopardy competition held over lunch was a popular event. Resident teams from 10 schools participated. UT Southwestern was the ultimate winner.
Because the meeting is smaller than the national meeting, there is an opportunity for more individualized contact. For example, there are "Works in Progress" sessions where researchers have the opportunity to obtain input from scholars at other institutions to improve their manuscripts and research projects. This does not happen at the national meeting.
Dr. Edelman observes, “It is important to participate in these meetings because we can connect with colleagues in the region and may have the opportunity to recruit people to our division.”