Chetana Pendkar, MBBS

Chetana Pendkar, MBBS

I decided to attend CHEST 2022 because it was the first in-person conference I could participate in since I began my fellowship. The pandemic made it challenging to attend live events, so I was excited to participate in a conference where I could interact with colleagues, network, and learn from experts in my field.

I was very excited to visit Nashville, and the Music City Center did full justice to the setup of the conference. I loved the energy of the meeting and the city. The convention center was very centrally located and convenient for travel. CHEST always does an excellent job finding the conference location, and keeping it centered in the city's heart allowed me to stay close to the convention center and enjoy the city. The atmosphere was lively, and I felt a sense of excitement and anticipation among attendees.

I was fortunate to meet with friends from residency and fellowship. I also met with many mentors and sought mentorship from CHEST leadership in the Trainee Lounge and the CHEST After Hours event, which was phenomenal. It felt like a personal experience at a busy conference, and I was able to catch up with new and old graduates from my fellowship program.

As a Trainee Work Group member, the Trainee Lounge was my place to start, where I got tips to make the most of my conference and had a home base to meet other conference-goers and discuss sessions that interested them. I also recommend that first-time CHEST attendees go to the Network Featured Sessions to interact with the leadership and find their role in CHEST.

During CHEST 2022, I had the opportunity to attend several educational sessions that were highly beneficial for my career development. As a fresh graduate with a focus on interventional pulmonology and working toward starting a new pulmonary program at my hospital, I found the sessions addressing clinical topics in interventional pulmonology particularly valuable, with in-depth discussions and updates on different interventional pulmonology procedures, such as robotic bronchoscopy techniques, lung nodule management advancements, and lung volume reduction surgery/valves. The speakers were experts in the field, and their insights and experiences were invaluable for my professional growth.

Although a super crowded session, the year in review for critical care was immensely valuable for my clinical practice. I attended the First 5 Minutes^® session, which provided me with tools to develop better patient trust and relationships, which has personally helped my patient communication by leaps. I also attended a session on updates in coding and billing, which helped me understand billing concepts for a fresh graduate like myself.

I'm also a clinical educator; education is my passion. Although I currently do not have a significant role as an academic educator, attending programs from the Educator Development Subcommittee helped me learn effective presentation techniques, understand the future of educational tools, engage learners in a clinical setting, and enhance my ability to educate and mentor future medical professionals.

I recommend attending the CHEST Annual Meeting for anyone interested in pulmonary, critical care, or sleep medicine. It's an excellent opportunity to learn from experts in the field, network with colleagues, and stay up to date with the latest research and developments in a fun and engaging experience with the CHEST community.