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In a pandemic world where meetings are now virtual or a hybrid version of in-person and virtual, neurologists discuss the challenges and opportunities for junior faculty to find mentors and networking opportunities.

The last two years have been a difficult time for clinical neurology everywhere, with issues with illness, staff shortages, institutional and personal financial difficulties, and an overarching sense of burnout. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed academic departments under heightened stress for financial and human resources, which trickles down to faculty, Abhimanyu Mahajan, MD, MHS, assistant professor of neurological sciences at Rush University's Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders Program, told Neurology Today.

In fact, one often underappreciated consequence of the pandemic has been its effect on mentorship and networking opportunities specifically for early-career faculty, he continued, whose foray into their first faculty position coincided with the start of the pandemic.

But there have been some silver linings toothe recent shifts away from in-person-only gatherings have offered opportunities for more creative and diverse interactions among neurologists with different levels of experience and geographic backgrounds.

Experts and neurologists involved in planning virtual and hybrid conferences spoke with Neurology Today about how they've been working to ensure early-career neurologists don't lose vital openings for mentorship and networking in the pandemic era, and offered advice on how to make the most of these events even from home.

While the advent of virtual conferences made it equitable and financially feasible for early-career faculty to attend multiple conferences, the didactic nature of virtual conferences has mitigated some of the positive effects, Dr. Mahajan said. Outside of poster and platform presentations, in-person conferences offer the chance for early-career faculty to interact with and learn from potential mentors and sponsors from other institutions. Random conversations may lead to long-term relationships and ideas that could foster good scientific hypotheses, and a novel line of investigation, he said. Many of these passing interactions were initially lost in the rapid transition to virtual meetings, but as the pandemic stretches into its third year, medical societies and organizations have been working to replicate these opportunities in other ways.

The American Neurological Association conference now has separate breakout rooms. Based on career interests, mentees are matched to mentors prior to the session. The AAN has had a mentormentee session as a part of the annual meeting, which was incorporated in the virtual meeting. To foster better understanding of the right mentor and sponsor for a given early-career faculty, the AAN has held webinars on the topic with experts in various aspects of academic neurology presenting their opinions and experience, Dr. Mahajan said.

Jacqueline A. French, MD, FAAN, professor of neurology in the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at NYU Langone School of Medicine, founder/director of the Epilepsy Study Consortium, and the chief medical and innovation officer of the Epilepsy Foundation, said the Epilepsy Foundation holds the Pipeline Conference every year to discuss new therapies, devices, and developments, and a similar symposium is hosted by the Epilepsy Study Consortium. For these meetings, she said, they put out an annual call especially for fellows and junior faculty because we are very mindful that we need to get young people excited and interested in the development of new therapies for the next generationand bringing them to these meetings is certainly a way to foster that.

The pandemic has undoubtedly thrown a wrench in this process in recent yearsparticularly the networking portion of it, she added, because a lot of people who have similar interests and who might collaborate or get excited about projects together meet at these conferences.

They get to talk to each other and create a network among themselves, Dr. French said, but on the planning side, they've been striving to mimic this in-person experience as much as possible.

Even before the pandemic, for young people, approaching the more senior people in this space is often very daunting, she said. So, every year, based on responses from more junior neurologists, the Epilepsy Foundation has created tables around specific interests where fellows and junior neurologists are put in groups with two or three luminaries in their field, Dr. French said.

When the meeting was completely virtual, these table discussions were moved to Zoom, and then as we went hybrid, some people would come in person, and some would be remote. Just a few months ago, Dr. French said, at the meeting, they had a physical table with some mentors and mentees physically in attendance and a few others on computer screens. They could see everybody else and were virtually sitting at the table. It worked pretty welland it was kind of funny, so people appreciated the novelty of it.

These sessions have served as important networking opportunities and are also meant to open the door for future mentorship, she said; some of the relationships created do last, but it takes workspecifically on the part of the mentees.

Louise McCullough, MD, PhD, who served as the chair of the International Stroke Conference in 2021 and 2022, has been involved in its planning for years. In a typical year, the meeting draws in about 5000 people, and it's probably one of the most important networking experiences for vascular neurologists and vascular neurology trainees, she said. It's the second largest of the AHA meetings after Scientific Sessions.

In 2020, they held what was to become the last in-person meeting of the year in February, just before the pandemic hit. In 2021, the meeting went fully virtual. But earlier this year, in February 2022, the AHA decided to return in person to New Orleans with hybrid options for those unable to travel, recognizing the importance of face-to-face communication, especially for trainees.

We wanted to make it as safe as possible, especially as this was one of the first large scientific meetings to return with an in-person component. We required proof of full vaccination, full masking, and ensured that everyone have a negative COVID test within 24 hours before entry, said Dr. McCullough, who is the Huffington Distinguished Chair in Neurology at the McGovern Medical School, and professor of neurology at UTHealth Houston and chief of neurology at Memorial Hermann Hospital in the Texas Medical Center.

They provided a waiting room and had access to over 5000 rapid tests for attendees to use before entering the conference. Instead of the usual 5000 in-person attendees, we had a little under 2000 participants, but it was fantastic. I heard really great feedback from trainees that they got more out of the conference than they have in the past because it was smaller, and there was much more opportunity to interact with leaders in the field, she added. We also wanted to ensure appropriate options for those that could not attend.

One way they were able to make the most of the hybrid environment and invite junior neurologists to feel comfortable networking with more senior experts in the field, Dr. McCullough said, was by hosting fireside chats where an expert panel would have completely unscripted discussions and you could ask them questions. They also hosted smaller hybrid sessions with mentor groups where senior neurologists would be paired with four to six junior neurologists who provided specific aims or project proposals for their review. This format created an opportunity for both groups to recognize faces and allowed the trainees to interact with one other as well.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of just signing up for a hybrid meeting, and listening to the lectures, and that's it, Dr. French said. But you lose all of those back hall conversations or bumping into people or sitting at their table at lunch.... My advice would be, if you are attending a hybrid meeting, make sure that you've looked at the program and sought out any of the opportunities for interactive sessions.

Dr. McCullough agreed, adding that it may be worth targeting the hybrid meetings for newer investigators and clinicians or have mentorship lunches or sessions where you can discuss your grant and your career plans with experts, she said. But you really need to follow up and contact the person who gave you advice, she continued. I always tell my mentees, I can't be more invested in your career than you are. The mentees have to do their work. You have to stay engaged, you have to keep the camera on, you have to send a follow-up email. If you're going to a lunch or a meeting where you're going to discuss a project, then you send your aims or points in advance, and then they'll remember you.

Dr. Mahajan said the hybrid approach makes sense for the near future. It combines greater access, financial sense, and lesser time away from clinic, with the interactions that in-person meetings can seemingly provide in greater amount and with greater ease.

Early-career neurologists might choose to attend a couple of conferences in their subspecialty area in person, and attend other important conferences virtually, he said, adding it offers the best of both worlds.

Another tool to use before, during, and after conferences is social media. There is a lot of conversation happening over social media, especially Twitter and the AAN Synapse section, said Dr. Mahajan, who gave a talk at the most recent AAN annual meeting about the appropriate use of social networking and social media for neurology researchers. The long-term impact of these interactions is still unknown, he noted, but few modalities match social media when it comes to reach.

Early-career faculty have used social media to talk to study authors and to pick their brains on questions they may have and/or future directions which it could take, Dr. Mahajan said. It can also be a good resource to interact with experts from specialties different from your own.

Such conversations have led to collaborations and grants, he noted. It's also an important way to find faculty and research position listings before they're formally posted. Finally, he said, departments can use social media to share talks, papers, and grants by early-career faculty, and increase their visibility.

Dr. McCullough suggested looking for mentorship and networks locally, as well. If you're in an area with several institutions or medical centers or hospitals, look locally because that mentor is much more likely to be able to meet with you regularly, she said.

Dr. McCullough added: I think there are challenges to being engaged virtually and we all face virtual burnout. But getting good quality, mentorship remotely is not an issue. You just need to keep organized, keep a timeline, and check in with the mentor. It's a very good idea to say, Okay, every fourth Monday, we'll call for 30 minutes, even if you don't have new data or new idea. I think keeping timelines is just as important when you meet virtually as when you do it in person.

As the pandemic becomes (hopefully) less of an impediment to meeting in person, other obstacles including the growing price of travel may pose significant barriers, Dr. French said. Additionally, she said she's long been concerned about women in medicine and/or science having to miss opportunities because of childcare-related needs, and noted that hybrid meetings should have been on the radar a long time ago.

I think it's very tempting to fall back into our old habits now and say, Okay, now everybody's back at meetings, we can do the things we used to do. We don't have to think about this anymore, Dr. French told Neurology Today. It's incumbent upon us, as senior faculty and mentors, to ask people where they are right now Are you not going to meetings? Are you going back to meetings? To find out where those missing pieces are, and who has been missing from the conversation?

Dr. French serves as an editorial board member for Neurology Today.

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