As you’ve likely heard, AMSN made the difficult decision to hold its annual convention fully virtually this year for the second year in a row. It was a difficult decision and one the Board of Directors didn’t take lightly.

We wanted to be together in person to celebrate all of you and the incredibly hard year you’ve all experienced. It’s AMSN’s 30th anniversary this year, and we wanted to celebrate our anniversary with you all.

We wanted to feel the excitement and buzz that the annual convention brings and to spend time together laughing, talking, learning, seeing old friends, and getting to know new friends.

Holding an in-person event in Orlando was not aligned with our efforts during the entirety of the pandemic... an in-person convention in Florida was not something we could move forward with.

We’ve spent significant time over the past 18 months advocating for your physical, emotional, and mental health. Holding an in-person event in Orlando was not aligned with our efforts during the entirety of the pandemic. The decision certainly was not easy, but it was clear.

To do our part in protecting you, your patients, and your family and friends from the highly transmissible Delta variant, an in-person convention in Florida was not something we could move forward with.

We also know that many of you can’t travel right now. That there is limited or no support for education from your employer. We also know that many of you just can’t think about education right now because you’re dealing with increasing COVID cases, staffing issues, and just getting through this.

If you attended last year’s convention virtually, you know that we managed to have as much, and in some cases, more engagement than we have in person, especially in-person with social distancing, masks, etc. The chat functionality in the online platform was, by far, the most popular aspect of the convention. We had social events, the same excellent education you’ve come to expect from AMSN, and over 50 contact hours that attendees could access for two years after the convention.

This year promises more of the same. We will do our very best to ensure that convention provides you with the education, networking, and fun you expect from our annual meeting. We have 50 educational contact hours again this year, and we’re holding a virtual 30th-anniversary party on Saturday evening. We’ve changed up the schedule a little bit, so the days aren’t as long, but without impacting the number of contact hours, you can earn. You’ll still have up to two years to access the content on-demand, when and where you want to access it.