CSTM Virtual Education – February 2024 Heart Edition- en anlgais

The CSTM Board revised the Education Subcommittee Terms of Reference in 2023 to focus on the provision of virtual education sessions. This blog series seeks to highlight both the Education Subcommittee and the various virtual events hosted throughout the year. For information on upcoming and past virtual events check out the CSTM Virtual Education Days webpage.
Author: Crystal Brunk, CSTM Director at Large (2022-2024)

CSTM Education Subcommittee
According to the terms of reference the purpose of the Education Subcommittee is “to provide educational sessions for those who can’t take full advantage of the annual CSTM conferences” and after the 2023 subcommittee reinvention the members wanted to take all they had learned about virtual events during the pandemic and bring it to this pursuit. The journey started off in the spring of 2023 with the first virtual event being that summer. Since then two additional events have been offered each of which brough together English and French speaking members of the CSTM community as the events were hosted with live translation. Each virtual event focuses on a different theme spotlighting speakers from across Canada with various backgrounds. Attendees are given the opportunity to engage directly with the speakers during a live question and answer period. Free for anyone to attend live, the events are recorded and made available only for CSTM members to watch again at any time.

Virtual Education – Heart Edition
Held on Valentines Day 2024, this aptly heart themed event welcomed over 270 live attendees! Attendees had predominately laboratory backgrounds however nurses, physicians, scientists, and others passionate about the theme rounded out the crowd. The event started with Dr. Kent and his presentation titled “Cold agglutinins: Impact on Cardiac Surgery” where he took everyone with him on a journey using a case study that highlighted one of those situations that is only seen once every ten or twenty years. Dr. Kent outlined the fundamentals of cold agglutinins while also providing real life lessons learned and future considerations – you’ll have to watch it yourself to get these pearls of wisdom.
The second heart racing presentation was all about “The Science and Fiction of ABOi Heart Transplantation”. Dr. Urschel spoke to the evolution of ABO incompatible transplants walking attendees through what started as single case study reports to validated evidence, he then left everyone thinking about the future and potential for what could be next. The lively question and answer period that followed dove deeper into topics of compatibilities and immunosuppression – again this is a must watch for anyone interested in this field that is full of heart.

On the Virtual Horizon
Casting sights forward the Education Subcommittee is already starting to plan for the July 17, 2024 summer event – if you are interested in speaking about a specific topic or want to join the Subcommittee reach out via [email protected]