A medical conference runs on two calendars at once. The scientific one covers the call for abstracts, review and the programme; the commercial one covers sponsors, the exhibition and the hall. Most problems come from letting one get ahead of the other. This guide sets out an order that keeps them in step, from about nine months before the congress to the week after it, and notes where evenclo handles a step.
Nine months out: date, venue and accreditation
Fix the date around your specialty’s calendar so you are not competing with a neighbouring society’s congress, then book the venue. In Egypt, continuing professional development hours for conferences are accredited by the Egyptian Health Council, and the number of hours depends on the scientific content. Plan the shape of the programme early: how many sessions, how long each one is and which are hands-on workshops. Delegates who collect hours for their licence ask about accreditation before anything else.
The call for abstracts
Publish the sections, the limits and the deadlines with the call, and say whether review is blinded. Societies often run several streams side by side, such as original research, clinical cases and a young investigator award. In evenclo each stream is its own call with its own form and rubric, review is blinded by the system, and accepted abstracts become sessions in the programme with the presenting author invited to register. A separate guide covers running the review itself.
Sponsors and the exhibition
Pharmaceutical and device companies fund much of a medical congress. Sell sponsorship as packages with clear entitlements, such as stand size, a symposium slot and delegate passes, and place the stands where delegates walk between sessions and coffee. In evenclo exhibitors apply, are approved and collect their passes through their own portal, and their staff scan delegates’ badges to capture leads.
Registration and the programme
Delegates register by category (consultant, specialist, resident, student, industry) with a fee for each, and many arrive in groups booked by a hospital or a company. Publish the programme with rooms and times and let delegates build their own agenda. Expect late changes, such as a delayed flight or a room swap; a change made in the programme appears on the published agenda straight away.
Attendance and certificates
An accrediting body can ask how you know a delegate attended. Record attendance per session by scanning badges at the door of each hall, and issue certificates only to delegates who met the rule you set, showing the hours they earned. evenclo calculates hours from the sessions each delegate was scanned into, so someone who left after the opening ceremony does not receive the full certificate.
Common questions
Who accredits medical conferences in Egypt?
The Egyptian Health Council accredits conferences for continuing professional development hours. The number of hours depends on the scientific content, so apply with your programme outline.
How early should a medical conference open its call for abstracts?
About seven months before the congress. That leaves three months for submissions, a month for review and a programme published two months out.
How do you prove attendance for credit hours?
Scan badges at the door of each session and issue certificates from those records, with hours counted from the sessions each delegate attended.
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