Conference Goals And Learning Preferences Among Attendees at A National Surgical Meeting

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated differences in conference goals and preferred learning modalities across demographic groups at a national surgical conference. DESIGN: An optional online survey collected demographic information (gender, practice type, role, years in independent practice), conference goals, preferred educational modalities, and Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic (VARK®) learning style preferences. Years in practice (< 10 vs. > 10) and role (faculty vs. trainee) served as proxies for generational or career-stage differences. Associations were analyzed using chi-squared tests. SETTING: American Pediatric Surgical Association (APSA) 2024 annual meeting. PARTICIPANTS: Pediatric surgery faculty and trainees. RESULTS: Of 802 attendees, 352 (44%) completed the survey. Most respondents worked at academic centers (86.1%), were faculty (67.9%), and were women (53.7%). The most common conference goals were acquiring new educational content (24.0%) and learning from peers (23.9%). The most frequently selected educational modalities were discussion with colleagues (18.5%) and reading journal articles (17.4%). Conference goals differed significantly by gender, role, and practice type (all p < 0.01). Learning modality preferences differed significantly by gender, role, practice type and years in practice (all p < 0.01). Among 288 respondents (82%) who completed the VARK questionnaire, visual (36.2%) learning style was most common overall, while trainees reported a greater preference for kinesthetic learning than faculty (48.3% vs. 23.6%, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Conference attendees share common goals of acquiring new knowledge but demonstrate meaningful differences in preferred educational modalities across career stage and demographic groups. Surgical meetings may benefit from incorporating diverse educational formats that include both traditional didactic sessions and interactive, skill-based learning opportunities.