AATOD’s Las Vegas conference will be virtual, but still fun.
Attendees at the April conference of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence (AATOD) will have plenty of fun, and lots to learn, as usual. Onsite will not happen due to the pandemic. It will be virtual.
What does “virtual” mean? According to Talley Management, the company which has run AATOD’s conferences for decades, it means “an event that you can attend from the comfort and convenience of your home, office, or wherever else you can think of, through your personal computer or mobile device.”
You have probably been doing quite a lot of “Zoom” meetings, “Facetime” conversations, and of course the old texting and emails. But a virtual conference is organized, and thanks to Talley and AATOD, this conference will be a “gathering that enables all attendees to communicate, share ideas, and enjoy a shared experience.” It will just be online rather than in-person.
There are registration fees, and only attendees who pay these will have live and on-demand access to more than 40 sessions, 20 posters and several roundtable presentations—not only during the conference, but for an entire year afterward.
This means that you don’t have to go through the painstaking process – as I have done for decades – of trying to choose which of the more than 30 concurrent sessions to attend (or, as I have also done, race from session to session to make sure to catch at least a piece of each). In this respect, registering for a virtual conference provides greater value, because you get access to all of the content.
Registration also includes direct access to exhibitors, and planned networking activities. For continuing education credits, a separate fee is required.
The agenda
Selected highlights from the agenda include:
Monday April 12, the opening plenary will feature Dinitia Smith, MSW, LCADC of the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Clinic for Drug Abuse Treatment, Keynote Speaker: Anja Busse – United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime and Mark W. Parrino, MPA, president of AATOD. During the two days prior, as always, there will be workshops.
Just a brief smattering of other workshops:
- How to survive and thrive in telemedicine
- Stigma
- MAT and COVID-19
- Lived experience: Integrating peers into the OTP
- How New York’s medication delivery system works
- The future of Central Registry systems
- Caring for pregnant women
- Collaboration between law enforcement and treatment providers in Pima County, Arizona
- Integrating counseling groups into OUD treatment for patients with co-occurring chronic pain
- Ending recovery stigma in the community
- Treating opioid, stimulant and other SUDs in the OTP setting
- Civil rights protections for parents in recovery from OUD
There will be clinic tours at the end of the meeting.
A separate fee for continuing education credits is required.
More details:
Instructions for setting up your schedule are on the way, or may already have been sent. email address associated with your registration is accurate and up to date so that there is no delay in receiving our communications.
The time zone for the virtual conference will be Pacific Time (PDT).
Once registered, a few weeks prior to the conference, you will receive your log-I credentials for the virtual conference platform.
If you had already registered for in-person participation, your registration has been transferred to a virtual registration.
The Conference Planning Committee is preparing for engaging networking opportunities, whether with exhibitors and sponsors or networking with other attendees. Some sessions will be offering live chat discussions and there will be a networking room offered throughout the conference for people to meet and discuss ideas and thoughts.
You may view the Conference Program in its entirety via the Program link on the left side Navigation.
Once registered, you may log in using your email address used at registration, and the Badge ID number on your confirmation.
When the conference opens, you will receive an email with a link to the conference’s LIVE presentation site.
On-demand viewing will be available for registered attendees only.
Attendees will be able to ask questions of presenters in a live Q&A session, as well as in a Q&A chat feature.
There will be a virtual Exhibit Hall with several opportunities to network with exhibitors via video chats.
Please visit the Credits and Evaluations page for more information.
If you are a presenter or speaker, you should have received your confirmation for participation with instructions, however, additional information will be forthcoming. Please log into the Speaker Portal to ensure your email address is up to date.
After viewing the sessions and completing the evaluations, you will be able to download a certificate of attendance.
So what about the “fun”? After all, you won’t actually be in Las Vegas. This is something we have all been struggling with. Ideas? Please send them to us at atforum@aol.com. And the beloved banquet, of course, won’t happen unless you want to dress up in your own tuxedo and gown and eat a sumptuous meal in front of the computer screen. Why not make it special? Most of us have already decided it’s fun to eat in front of the big screen anyway.