My SMACC Chicago experience by Dr. Marietjie “MJ” Slabbert

My SMACC Chicago experience

I’m about 1 hour into 8-hours of the most epic instrumental music ever as I sit and write some reflections on my experience at SMACC this year in June. Quite fitting this “most epic” music for writing about a most excellent experience.

The SMACC conference in Chicago was my first “in person” SMACC conference. I remember sitting in the Cardiac ICU with a colleague of mine @W40SYM last year during SMACCgold and trying to keep up with all the SMACC conference tweets.

There was clearly a passion for patient care here. The SMACC conference was described on my twitter time line as “a conference like no other…”. Having been an interested member of the #SoMe #FOAMed community on twitter for the past few years, I two have been reading all about this “experience” or phenomenon called “SMACC” and just had to go find out for myself and put a face to some of the people I’ve had multiple (and frequent) debates and conversations with on twitter. I jumped at the opportunity when asked to be involved with the pre-hospital day as a member on one of the #SMACCForce panels. A true honour. So when I found myself just across the border from Chicago this year while working in Toronto, I could not let the opportunity pass by to attend SMACC Chicago and decided to turn this into a road-trip and bring my Mom (an academic in nursing sciences) along to Chicago. She was visiting from overseas at the time and to be honest, not once did I think it would be weird to bring your Mom to a critical care conference – it was SMACC right – the place where my friends were. In fact, when I mentioned to Cliff Reid that I brought my Mom, his response was that he might consider doing the same next year. Hey, why not.

Now it is difficult to explain really, but it didn’t really feel like I was going to a conference. Well, not like any of the other conferences I had been to that regurgitate publication after publication, conferences where you might briefly make eye contact with one other person or awkwardly start a conversation in the lunch-line (I’ve been to many of “those” conferences). It felt more like I was going to a gathering of like-minded people, to meet up with distant friends to share experiences, learn from one another’s mistakes and victories and get inspired to deliver bold and excellent patient care.

Around a week before the conference I received a “top-secret mission” from Dr. John Hinds to bring him a bucket, a brick and duck tape across the border for one of his debates. Now having been in the audience many times during a unique and memorable John Hinds presentation, I knew that here at SMACC we were again going to see and hear exceptional, creative and memorable presentations. For the whole week, everyday, cycling back from work, I looked for a brick for John Hinds (you won’t believe how difficult it is to find one brick in Toronto when you live in a condo). One scavenger hunt later, a toilet brush and soap to wash most of the moss of the brick, a visit to the Dollar shop and car rental later, I set off with my Mom to Chicago.

And it did not disappoint.

What made SMACC Chicago a unique experience for me:

• Even before arriving at the venue on our way there on the coach, people were actually talking to one another…like a lot! Usually starting the conversation along the lines of: “Are you @so-and-so, oh, I follow you on twitter…” More than once did I hear someone make the remark – “This is not at all like most of the other conferences I’ve been at…”
• Seeing old friends from years ago who are living on other continents with whom I’ve only stayed on contact via social media lately.
• Meeting new friends who feel like old friends and talented, inspired next generation clinicians who almost feel like my younger siblings, like Aiden Baron (@LittleMedic) and Jess (@EMS_Junkie).
• Being inspired by people like Cliff Reid talking about it’s up to us to save the world.
• A conference where patients beliefs and religion not only make it onto the agenda but a entertaining but heartfelt talk by Liz Crowe (@LizCrowe2) makes it one of the conference highlights for me.
• Marveling at the critical care giants just leisurely sitting on the stage in armchairs sipping on beers having a sepsis SMACCdown. True legends, actual Professors like Mervyn Singer and John Myburgh. But not only that, it’s the kind of conference where you can walk up to Prof Singer or Prog Myburgh and actually talk to them!
• Jedi master class in ultrasound use.

• The kind of conference where you can say “hi” to Prof Karim Brohi (@karimbrohi) coming out of a presentation and compliment him on his British humour.
• Meeting the giants of FOAMed like Minh Le Cong (@Ketaminh) and Tim Leeuwenburg (@KangarooBeach) and seeing how humble and open and giving they are.

• Listening to helicopter emergency medicine legends like Mike Abernathy (@FLTDOC1) talking about a HEMS crash and hearing the emotion in his voice.
• Casually looking out over the lake having a sandwich for lunch with Mike Abernathy and Ryan Wubber (@MedFlightdoc), two super experienced down to earth USA flight docs.
• Putting a face to soooo many talented passionate healthcare providers I’ve had online 140 character at a time discussions with and being inspired by the feel of we are in it together for the patients.
• And many, many, many more!

Time after time I left a session with a sense of gratitude for the vulnerability of presenters during a talk about challenges faced, a sense of “we are all in it together” and need to look after our patients but also ourselves and one another.
I left SMACC Chicago inspired. Inspired not only by the presentations, but even more so by all the informal conversations with people who felt like old friends reunited.

The death of John Hinds just a few days after SMACC really hit me. Writing this now I feel all emotional again just thinking about it. How can it be that only a few days before John’s death, I sat next to him on the coach coming back from the last day of SMACC on our way to the hotel just chatting about, well, just stuff: How relieved John was when he took the laryngoscope out of the bucket of water during his VL/ DL debate at #SMACCForce and the light on the blade actually still worked (Pew!); just chatting about ideas for maybe running a practical session on removal of racing leathers etc. for next SMACC, talking about his aspirations for the NI HEMS and me wanting a job in NI to come and assist, sharing our thoughts on the fibre-optic intubating scopes and how easily ICU trainees can break them… just stuff you know. Never did I think that would be it. That one of us would need pre hospital critical care and emergency resuscitation and damage control surgery and massive blood transfusion and die within a week. It definitely confronted me with my own mortality and just how fragile life really is and how none of us know how long we have this privilege of life for and how much we need a community of people and family around us and why we should care about others and be passionate about what we do.

Now every time I cycle home, I am reminded of looking for a brick for John and I feel sad but also grateful for the opportunity of knowing amazing clinicians like John Hinds and I’m inspired to be better, care more, take what I’ve learned through the years and share it, work harder at delivering excellent care, look after my colleagues and continue to be part of this critical care community and be back for the conference next year. God willing.

Thank you for everyone who was involved in making SMACC Chicago truly an experience.

Dr. Marietjie “MJ” Slabbert
Trauma Anaesthetics and Critical Care Physician

Complacency is the enemy of excellence… “Healthy discontent is the prelude to progress” – Gandhi #thought-4-2day pic.twitter.com/Dom2FEeoAa

— gas-and-air doc (@mjslabbert) August 5, 2015