The 2011 ACR/ARHP Annual Meeting in Chicago was a record-breaking success, with almost 16,000 attendees. The ACR and the ARHP are building on that success by developing a comprehensive scientific program for 2012 that will be sure to meet the needs of all attendees. Plan to join us for the premier rheumatology meeting this year in Washington, D.C., November 9–14.
We are excited about the plans for this upcoming scientific program. The ACR Annual Meeting Planning Committee and the ARHP Program Committee have worked hard to develop a program that will be of great interest to practicing clinicians as well as basic and clinical investigators. In addition to returning favorites such as Year in Review, Curbside Consults—Meet the Professors, The Great Debate, and Thieves’ Market, this year’s program will include more clinical reviews, symposia, and State-of-the-Art lectures. If you missed last year’s ACR Knowledge Bowl, you missed seeing the University of New Orleans, the reigning champions, take home the trophy. Think it was easy? Check it out at this year’s meeting!
Premeeting courses: These courses, which will be offered Friday, November 9 and Saturday, November 10, will provide attendees with the opportunity to take advantage of an array of offerings.
New this year: The ACR 2012 Practice Management Preconference Course—Helping You Manage a Profitable Practice, for practice managers and administrators, will be held Friday, November 9. Additionally, the ACR Clinical Research Conference has been expanded to a day and a half.
Don’t miss the opportunity to sign up for the very popular ACR Musculoskeletal Ultrasound Course for Rheumatologists, because it sells out quickly. The ACR Review Course continues to draw thousands. The ACR Basic Research Conference, the ACR Certified Rheumatology Coder Course, the ACR/ABIM Maintenance of Certification Learning Session, and the ARHP Clinical Focus Course will also be offered again. Plan to register early because you do not want to miss the opportunity to attend.
Opening event: This year’s opening event will be held at the Newseum. This ticketed event, which will be held on Saturday, November 10 at 7:00 p.m., is the must-attend event of the entire meeting. The Newseum—a 250,000-square-foot museum of news—offers visitors an experience that blends five centuries of news history with up-to-the-second technology and hands-on exhibits. The galleries and theaters will immerse you in the world’s greatest news stories—the people, the places, and the times. It offers a unique environment that takes museumgoers behind the scenes to experience how and why news is made.