Keri Bramford-Hale, Amber Dunlop, Mandeep Heer and Bridget O’Connell, CEBIS Specialists, University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust
Health Libraries Group Conference 2024: Connecting. Thursday 20th – Friday 21st June 2024. Hybrid: The Royal College of Physicians, London & Online
Amber Dunlop
All of the Clinical Evidence Based Information Specialists (CEBIS) from University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) were lucky enough to attend the HLG Conference this year, one virtually and the others both attending and presenting.
As the only virtual attendee, and as my first experience of ever attending a conference online, I really appreciated being able to join in live via the chat option to ask presenters questions (albeit most of the time I was beaten to it by other viewers!). Being able to switch between presentations was also beneficial and not something I’ve been able to do at previous in-person conferences; sometimes I found myself watching something that either wasn’t relevant to my role/interests or was something that we were already doing and being able to then attend new, more relevant talks was something that I really appreciated. It also meant that I could pop in to check on my colleagues too!
After hearing about the setting and social events from my colleagues, I will admit that I felt rather disappointed to have missed them, but my virtual experience was 100% positive and something I would highly recommend to those who aren’t able to commit to the travel time that it often takes to reach conferences. I will be choosing virtual attendance as my preference in the future.
Keri Bramford-Hale
Navigating the entrance to the conference centre was a challenge (thanks, GPS!), but on arrival it was immediately apparent that this would be quite a lively event. The concurrent talks and workshops truly embodied the theme of “connecting.” It was refreshing to engage with a diverse group of attendees, as you were often in a room with different people than you might usually be with for such an event. In addition to this, being able to catch up on anything you might have missed by watching and listening to the recordings post-conference has really helped; there were times when it was hard to decide which talk or workshop I most wanted to attend!
The variance of room type changed the dynamics of the different talks and presentations. The lecture theatres followed a traditional format, with presentations followed by Q&A, while the seminar rooms fostered a more collaborative, intimate environment. A highlight was Dr Paul Cannon’s session on creating a systematic review escape room, which inspired our CEBIS team to enhance interactivity in our own sessions.
I presented in a lecture theatre, and despite my nerves, the supportive audience made the experience enjoyable. Since then, I have had some engaging conversations with other attendees, both on and offline.
One of the highlights was of course the food and garden party – being outdoors in a more informal setting really encouraged us all to relax and enhanced connections with other teams attending the conference. And of course, Michael Rosen’s heartfelt recounting of his COVID experience meant there wasn’t a dry eye in the house! For future HLG conferences, I’d recommend maintaining this relaxed yet busy atmosphere. Adding more workshops would be beneficial, as they inherently encourage collaboration and connection
Mandeep Heer
During the conference, I spoke with various team members to gain insight into the services their trusts offer. In my experience as a CEBIS specialist, I’ve found that CEBIS remains a unique service. It’s always interesting to see people’s surprised reactions when they hear about what we do, as I’ve yet to encounter any other service that operates in the same way as CEBIS.
The presentations and talks were highly engaging, but one that stood out for me was Dominic Gilroy’s presentation on “Connecting Across Sectors.” It demonstrated the value and impact of building partnerships across different trusts. Another talk I particularly enjoyed was by Dawn Grundy on the “Health Information Week Project.” She highlighted the challenges they faced and how they promoted high-quality information, which directly impacts people’s ability to stay healthy and manage illness effectively, improving quality of life.
When I presented my talk, the audience was very engaged, taking notes throughout. My presentation generated several questions, and afterwards, I had discussions with attendees, including a team from Bristol, about the challenges faced in the guidelines process. It was great to be able to connect in person at the conference, and meeting Michael Rosen was the highlight of the event! We had the chance to take pictures and chat, and he shared his experience of being in the hospital during COVID in a very moving talk.
For future HLG conferences, I believe it would be even more beneficial to include interactive workshops rather than solely presentations showcasing our work. This would allow us to learn more from each other and foster deeper collaboration.
Bridget O’Connell
I attended the HLG conference in person. The venue was incredible, so welcoming and with a good range of room types to encourage different interactions with speakers/presenters. I gave a presentation, a lightning talk and had submitted a poster. I was delighted with the opportunities that these gave me to meet with others and share ideas.
I would have loved for the lightning talks to have been more of a discussion rather than presentation opportunity – as often these were on topics that affected us all and so many in the audience had ideas to share rather than questions to ask at the end of a presentation.
I found that the attendees were very welcoming and keen to network, and I made the most of that opportunity. Can you beat chatting with other brilliant clinical librarians sat in the sunshine in a lovely garden eating pizza? It is also really pleasing that the talks were recorded so that we could all go back and listen to talks that we missed. All in all, I found the event inspiring and invigorating and hope to put the plans developed in that sunlit garden into practice.
Health Libraries Group 