Break the Ice at Congress

Amanda Leong, BSc, Pharm, ACPR, a critical care pharmacist at Foothills Medical Centre, Alberta Health Services, in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, knows her career aspirations are a bit unorthodox, at least for where she works. She is currently pursuing a doctorate degree in epidemiology at the University of Calgary’s Cumming School of Medicine. Her goal is to become a pharmacist-scientist, an unusual role in Canada, she said.

Ms. Leong knew the job was more common in other parts of the world, and she wanted to meet other pharmacist-scientists to hear about their experiences and any advice they might offer. So she turned to the Society of Critical Care Medicine’s (SCCM) annual Critical Care Congress. Ms. Leong, who has been an SCCM member since 2021, attended her first Congress in 2024. “I was eager to attend Congress to learn more about pharmacist-scientist careers worldwide,” she said. “I was not only able to learn about these careers, I was also able to connect with international pharmacist-scientists.”

Congress can be an incredible opportunity to network and learn, but it can also be overwhelming, particularly for first-time attendees. Congress was the single largest conference Ms. Leong had ever attended. Her first challenge was deciding which sessions to attend. She took advantage of two pre-Congress opportunities to help her plan her experience.

The first was a meeting of the SCCM Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmacology (CPP) Section. “The SCCM CPP Section was integral in helping me navigate Congress, feeling more comfortable and giving me contacts to help me feel like a part of a group,” she said. “I would have felt like a fish out of water without their community.”

The second opportunity was Break the Ice: First-Time Congress Attendee Gathering, at which first-time attendees gathered to get to know one another and receive helpful tips about what to expect at Congress. This event returns for the 2025 Congress. “It was a great session to learn about Congress, what it offers, and how to make the most of Congress,” Ms. Leong said. “The session was a great opportunity to meet other first-time attendees. It was nice to get to know other clinicians worldwide.”
 

Attend the 2025 Break the Ice session to connect with other first-time attendees and receive helpful tips about what to do to make the most of your Congress experience. Break the Ice: First-Time Congress Attendee Gathering Saturday, February 22, 2025 5:30 p.m. – 6:30 p.m. Orange County Convention Center

Finding Direction While Breaking the Ice
Amy Dzierba, PharmD, BCCCP, FCCM, was a critical care pharmacist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital last year and is now the director of pharmacology research for the ASPIRE Trials Program at New York University, Grossman School of Medicine. She is also a current SCCM Executive Committee member. She was a cofacilitator of last year’s Break the Ice session. During the session, she talked about becoming an SCCM member in 2001 and memories of her first Congress experience. “Oh gosh, I was so lost,” she said. “I didn’t know where to start. Congress was just so overwhelming.”

Her goal for Break the Ice was to help first-time attendees move past that overwhelming feeling and discover strategies to make the most out of the experience. Dr. Dzierba spoke about the different types of sessions at Congress, the various special events, how to maximize the Congress app, and how to choose between two sessions with conflicting times.

The discussion was particularly helpful for Austin Burnette, PharmD, a critical care clinical pharmacist at Tampa General Hospital. “I would describe Congress as learning critical care through a firehose for three days, in the most incredible way,” Dr. Burnette said. “There are so many things that you want to do, and the hardest part is deciding which ones you will do.”

Dr. Dzierba stressed that one of the advantages of attending Congress is receiving access to session recordings after Congress. If you cannot choose between two sessions with conflicting times, you can attend one in person and watch the recording of the other one afterward. “What’s really neat about SCCM is that the Congress Digital recordings are included in the registration fee,” Dr. Dzierba said. “You’re not going to miss it. You’ll be able to rewatch it. And if you went to a session and didn’t quite capture the essence of what was being said, you can go back and watch it again.”

The research emphasis was a primary draw for Dr. Burnette, who wanted to share the research he conducted as a resident while also expanding his knowledge. He joined SCCM in 2023 and was grateful to attend Congress in 2024. “Congress diversifies everyone’s practice,” he said. “It allows for sharing the wealth of knowledge we have all gained over the years.”

While Dr. Burnette will not be able to attend the 2025 Congress, he has some advice for first-time attendees. “Don’t feel like you have to go to everything,” he said. “Make a detailed plan for yourself, rely on that plan, and meet as many people as possible.”

The Power of Networking
Dr. Dzierba echoes Dr. Burnette’s sentiment. The biggest lesson she tried to convey during last year’s Break the Ice session was the value of networking. “Sometimes you believe you know the right way to do things, but talking to people who are experts in their field might add a different level of understanding for you,” she said. “They can also help direct you when you have an idea but maybe it’s not quite fully developed.”

Dr. Dzierba also emphasized the value of mentors and how sometimes a simple networking conversation can turn into a career-long mentorship. It does not happen all the time, but it happens. Dr. Dzierba experienced that firsthand. “After training, you have a wealth of knowledge, but there’s so much more to learn,” she said. “SCCM members are so giving of their time. My first Congress I developed relationships and found mentors who are still my mentors today.”

That experience influenced all of Dr. Dzierba’s future Congresses. She knows it can be overwhelming, but with proper planning and the right attitude, the experience can be transformational. “I always get inspired when I go to Congress,” she said, “because I see everybody getting together in one space, sharing their knowledge and wanting to impart that knowledge so that others can do the same thing.”