The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians will hold its 27th annual conference at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bellevue, Wash., August 15–18, 2012. You are all invited to attend.
I have had the honor of chairing the conference speaker selection committee for the past year and wish to take a moment to share some of my excitement over this upcoming conference. I had no idea how challenging a position this would be when I volunteered to become involved several years ago. We have a surplus of very smart and thoughtful people in our profession, and the number of excellent—not just suitable—abstracts was overwhelming. Our committee’s job was to score each of the submitted abstracts so that the conference planners could select the best of the best; this turned out to be just the upper quintile of scores. In other words, four-fifths of those who submitted abstracts in the hope of speaking at the conference received letters of rejection. We had to say no to many excellent topics. The presentations chosen are really top notch.
Our main criterion for selecting a presentation was whether the topic could help us be better practitioners. I think we have succeeded, and this year’s AANP conference may be the best continuing education available to naturopathic physicians of the year.
I have had some say in selecting which abstracts will be keynote presentations, and this has given me the opportunity to create a theme to this aspect of the conference. My hope is that together we can explore the ongoing curiosity about how and why our medicine works.
Registration Is Open
Please plan to attend this year's convention. There will be sessions covering the latest research and clinical updates, and an exhibit hall full of quality products and services. It is a great place to meet new friends and renew friendships. Come meet the AANP’s new executive director and share your ideas for strengthening the organization.
