Groundbreaking cardiovascular science: check. World-class faculty: check. Practical, clinical education: check. Interactive learning experiences: check. The stage is set for ACC’s premier education event of the year — ACC.18.

The next three days have been carefully crafted to showcase the latest and greatest in cardiovascular science, expand clinical skills, and spark innovation and discussion. With more than 300 education sessions featuring 1,605 expert faculty, 2,700 accepted abstracts presented in oral and poster sessions by 2,100 experts, and 37 Late-Breaking Clinical Trials and Featured Clinical Research presentations, ACC.18 is the place to see, hear and experience everything cardiology has to offer.

“As we shaped this meeting, our focus has been interactivity and the attendee experience,” says ACC.18 Chair Jeffrey T. Kuvin, MD, FACC. “Attendees are the key ingredient in this recipe, leading us to schedule more time for audience participation so they are engaged learners — and even teachers.”

According to Kuvin, active engagement is built into every aspect of the meeting with the ultimate goal to allow members to learn from each other and also easily take what they’ve learned back to their practices, hospitals and patients the next day.

Sessions and educational exhibits are designed specifically to encourage thought-provoking panel discussions and lively debates. New this year, member volunteers representing each ACC.18 Learning Pathway will also be live tweeting from key sessions as a means for broadening discussions even further.

"As we shaped this meeting, our focus has been interactivity and the attendee experience." — Jeffrey T. Kuvin, MD, FACC

Interdisciplinary learning is also a key focus of ACC.18, with sessions, events and resources for every member of the cardiovascular care team.

The Lounge & Learn Pavilion continues to serve as an important hub for such interdisciplinary activities, with its Personalized Skills & Simulation Center for self-paced learning. New this year, the Heart 2 Heart Stage features short, casual 30-minute sessions on timely topics ranging from “MACRAnyms” to social media to prior authorization. The first presentation is “How to Navigate ACC.18: An Inside Look at This Year’s Program,” today at 10:15 a.m.

“The Heart 2 Heart Stage is intended to provide knowledge in a less formal way and involve the audience,” says Andrew M. Kates, MD, FACC, vice chair of ACC.18. “It will focus on topics that may not be in the headlines, but they affect clinicians and practice.”

The Engage@ACC.18 Studio is another innovative and interactive theater with a 180-degree stage designed for audience participation. Among the many novel community-centered events taking place are FIT Jeopardy, Cardiology Contest, Family Feud, Heart Teams in Action and Quiz Bowl.

Special “intensives” focused on hot topics also return for ACC.18, but with formatting changes based on attendee feedback. This year’s focused, half-day sessions will provide closer looks at emerging technologies and the future of cardiovascular practice; adult congenital heart disease for the general cardiologist; and shared decision-making for the clinician. And each intensive includes a field trip!

ACC Section Highlights are another unique learning opportunity for attendees at ACC.18. Each of the seven sessions will be held on Monday afternoon and moderated by leaders from the specific section. “We designed this session to give learners the chance to discuss and put into context the new information and science from the meeting, so they can immediately return to work and put it into action,” says Kates.

Late-breaking science is another hallmark of ACC’s Annual Scientific Session and the science presented at ACC.18 will not disappoint. The much-anticipated ODYSSEY and VEST trials will kick-off the Late-Breaking Clinical Trial sessions today. Kates notes that attendees should be prepared for more interactivity and engagement at these sessions.

"We designed this session to give learners the chance to discuss and put into context the new information and science from the meeting, so they can immediately return to work and put it into action." — Andrew M. Kates, MD, FACC

For the second year, dual Continuing Medical Education and Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credit is available in more than 300 sessions, allowing participants to easily meet American Board of Internal Medicine MOC requirements. Many sessions also provide Continuing Nursing Education and/or Continuing Pharmacy Education credit. International attendees also can obtain External Continuing Medical Education credit. Claiming the credit is simple and easy through the same app used to navigate ACC.18.

The ACC.18 Expo extends the learning opportunities. “The exposition is a great venue for interactivity, continued learning and interaction with our pharmaceutical and industry partners,” Kuvin says. “It’s an important and rich environment.” With nearly 300 exhibitors, the ACC.18 Expo is the largest gathering of innovative cardiovascular products and services under one roof. It’s also the site of a number of Learning Destination presentations as well as the Health IT Pavilion, Interventional Pavilion and Patient Engagement Pavilion. The new Future Hub in the Expo Hall will highlight some of the up-and-coming technologies in the field and will be the site of the first-ever ACC.18 Innovation Challenge, in partnership with angelMD, where entrepreneurs and innovators will pitch their ideas for products and services in digital health and medical devices.

“The ACC Scientific Session continues to be the place to learn the latest science and integrate key information into your practice,” says Kuvin. “It’s a time to connect with the science and to connect with the global cardiovascular community.”

Keywords: ACC Publications, ACC Scientific Session Newspaper, ACC Annual Scientific Session

< Back to Listings