Health-Systems Academy Spring Seminar

S (situation):

Montana Pharmacy Association’s Health-Systems Academy continues to evaluate the Spring Seminar to ensure it is desired by and valuable to members.

B (background):

The Spring Seminar was started back in 2014 as a way to meet the needs of MPA’s members practicing in health systems.  Over the years, it has focused primarily on sharing resident pharmacists’ major projects with those across the state.  As residency programs throughout Montana have grown, the Spring Seminar has tried to keep pace and still make the conference valuable for members who are not part of residency programs. 

However, attendance has continued to decline, and sponsorships are hard to obtain.  In recent years, Spring Seminar has been mainly attended by those who work with residents, thereby making some of the content repetitive (i.e., they have listened to their own resident presentations before the Spring Seminar). 

Additionally, healthcare resources continue to be stressed, with many organizations across Montana working short-staffed.  Burnout in healthcare workers is high, and this has decreased their desire to participate in conferences during their free time.

Finally, financial strains are surfacing in the form of travel restrictions for some health systems.  This is expected to impact the ability of MPA members to participate in the Spring Seminar. 

A (assessment):

Residency sites have mixed views regarding the Spring Seminar as it is currently designed.  While they value in-person presentation opportunities for residents, a recent survey showed they have other ways for their residents to share their major projects locally, regionally, and nationally.

R (recommendation):

MPA Health-Systems Academy recommends cancelling the 2023 MPA Spring Seminar and forming a group look at the value, structure, and financial sustainability of the conference moving forward.