10 Steps to Success at APhA Annual Meeting

3/16/19
I just returned from my first APhA Annual Meeting. It was by no means my first professional conference, but it is one of the largest pharmacy organizations in the country and therefore was a whole new ballgame! So without further adieu, 10 steps to success at APhA Annual Meeting:

Dress professionally. Invest in a few well-tailored and high quality outfits. I typically wear a combination of brightly colored matching suits that make a statement and match my colorful personality (only kind of kidding).
Coffee! Annual meeting was in Seattle this year, the home of Starbucks. Luckily caffeine is available on every corner! Without this miracle drug, I would not have made it through the exhausting weekend with enough focus to actually enjoy all the events.
Create a schedule of specific events you’re interested in attending, study time, and locations you want to explore in a potentially new city. You can quickly get overwhelmed with all the tasks you need to accomplish during only 1 weekend, and this will help curb a lot of stress if you plan ahead. (Personally, I made a color coded excel sheet.)
Contact previous acquaintances who you have previously met that live in the area that the conference will be held in. Ask faculty members and older students if they have any contacts that will be attending the event that may be willing to set aside time for a quick coffee meeting with you. I perused the APhA website to find some key leaders in the specialties that I am interested in, and reached out to set up several meetings months in advance.
Find friends who will accompany you. Luckily, my best friends happen to be involved in the same organizations as me and have traveled with me to many of the conferences I have attended. It is always more fun to have a buddy that understands the craziness of a professional conference in the middle of a semester.
Prepare ahead of time for the school you will miss or will return to the following week. If a faculty member is attending with you, ask if they would be willing to proctor a remote test if you’re missing one. Prepare your notes early, and stay on top of any lectures that you miss.
Bring a notebook and write down everything you hear. From inspiring sessions to scholarship deadlines to innovative ideas that you want to implement in your chapter, you will want to refer back to this when you return and decompress.
Network: the primary purpose of most conferences. Bring professional business cards and hand them out to everyone you meet, and ask for theirs as well. Add your new contacts on social media, LinkedIn, and follow up conversations with professional emails to maintain the new relationship.
Use your flight/drive time wisely. The flight from Atlanta to Seattle is 5 hours long, and I wrote emails, essays, went through powerpoints, and studied for my upcoming tests (all while the latest episodes of Modern Family on the airplane TV).
Take pictures! I brought my real camera to snap high quality pictures and videos throughout the weekend, but you can do the same thing on your iPhone! It’s so nice to have all the memories to look back on, and it’s a great time to get some nice photos in your professional outfits.