Presentations

It must be said, I love giving public talks. In some ways its an adrenaline rush, and in other respects its a great challenge. Crafting a talk is challenging, with considerations including: What do they want to know? Should I drop a joke or humorous comment here? What images should I use? Creating a presentation is an art I feel, and at times difficult. Personally I think it takes listening to great talks and seeing great presentation designs (do not forget to look outside of your profession) to learn the best ways to integrate them into your style. And thats the key thing, no two speakers are the same. Those that watch me present have commented that I tend to be energetic and passionate. While that may sound good, for some people thats not what they want. Such a speaker may not seem the most objective person to give a talk, and as such I have learned how to curtail such passions when the talk meanders into a section that needs to be faced with stoicism. Nonetheless, here is a sample of presentations I have given and thoughts on the matter.

Let There Be Stoning!

If nothing else, perhaps one of the most intriguing articles I have read on public speaking that has affected my stance on presentation style is the article "Let there be stoning!" by Jay H. Lehr, written in 1985. Give it a read. Key points are that its a privilege to present, and that if an person would dedicate excellence to crafting a manuscript, the same must be done for a talk. But no talk should just be a smattering of information. It needs to be entertaining, enlightening, and worthwhile to attend. Otherwise, an attendee could just read the paper. Rather the presentation is a forum for the valuable verbal communication that often gets bypassed in the written word, that can be shared amongst others. The key takeaway point has always been "Be intimate with your audience," which I think is very true in all talks.

Lehr, J.H., 1985, Let there be stoning!: Ground Water, v. 23, no. 2, p. 162-165.

National Presentations

integrating mobile technology into pharmacy practice: What does mHealth mean for pharmacy?

2014 ASHP Midyear Clinical Meeting and Exhibition

Synopsis: This presentation introduced the audience to the topic of mobile health (mHealth) and how it has been impacting the practice of healthcare. Examples and past research was discussed and where such impacts may benefit pharmacy practice. Devices were then live demonstrated, and the audience was invited to come to the stage and try them out themselves. These included AliveCor, Withings blood pressure monitor and smart scale, and heart rate monitors. Overall the audience enjoyed it, and I loved seeing people wanting to try out the devices. I wish there could have been more discussion from the audience to see where they could envision mHealth integration into the practice setting. This was also the second time I presented with someone, and it was an enjoyable experience.

Hands on with Mobile Medical Apps: Teaching students evaluation techniques via a workshop

2014 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) Annual Meeting, Grapevine, TX

Synopsis: This presentation focused on research conducted with another pharmacy school focused on developing a workshop/laboratory session for pharmacy students to evaluate mobile medical applications. The results of the intervention were presented at this podium talk, along with a mock example of the workshop presented for the students. Much focus by the audience was on how to evaluate the apps and ways to integrate into the curriculum.

Google Glass Challenge

MedTech Boston, Google Cambridge Office, MA

Synopsis: This was a pitch I gave as part of a competition hosted at Google by MedTech Boston as their Google Glass Challenge in Healthcare. I was selected along with 13 other participants out of 50 competitors to give my pitch on how to use Google Glass in healthcare. The competition was a fun endeavor, and gave me the opportunity to learn what such a competition entails. I ended up winning the GameChanger Award, for my idea of bringing Google Glass into the patient home for telemedicine services.

Smartphones and Tablet Computers: What apps are good for Pharmacists?

2013 American Society of Hospital Pharmacists 48th Midyear Clinical Meeting, Orlando, FL

Synopsis: This was my first 'Big' presentation, with an audience 800-1000 in attendance. The talk was a podium with given on an iPad Mini. Essentially I took my slide deck, converted to a PDF, then placed in iBooks that I presented from. The talk went over the growing market of mobile devices and mobile medical applications. Narrowing down to the growing role of mobile medical applications and their role in practice, the presentation then focused on the significant risk and shortfalls associated with medical applications that research has brought to light. Focus then was placed on practitioners can review apps for their own personal use and considerations to take into account when they go to select an app. Upcoming and current regulations were addressed, and how it may hamper or improve the market. Lastly, apps that I felt would be beneficial for the audience (majority hospital pharmacists) were demoed to show how they work and give them food for thought as to what they may go home and download. Was a very enjoyable presentation and enjoyed the good feedback on my style and how I can improve.

Evaluating Mobile Medical Apps for Utilization by Pharmacy Students

2013 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL

Synopsis: This was my first foray into an academic conference presentation. Audience size was around 75, with roundtables. Again, using my iPad I gave my usual introduction into mobile medical applications. However, the majority of time was spent with an emphasis on evaluating apps for students and what they should use in practice. My key point, "Do you know what reference your students are using in order to make a clinical decision?" The changing modality of medical information and its migration to digital grounds means that pharmacy and medicine need to adjust. We need to educate students on the judicious way to identify quality evidence sources to use. There is just to much improper available on the net, and I would rather students did not just go to Wikipedia all the time. Available here.

International Presentations

Research in mHealth: Finding the Right Balance

Medicine 2.0'13 Annual Conference, Blackfriars, London, England

Synopsis: This was a panel talk that I moderated and spoke a bit at the Medicine 2.0 annual conference dealing with the issues of mHealth research. It was an interesting talk, with several members of iMedicalApps talking, Gunther Eysenbach, Joel Topf, and several other researchers. In some respects the panel was great on mobile apps, it could probably have included more on mobile devices as well and other aspects of mobile devices and online sources. Nonetheless, an enjoy full experience.

The Wild West of Mobile Medical Applications

2013 Apps for Health (A4H), Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Synopsis: This was an invited talk about mobile medical applications and the issue of numerous shortcomings becoming apparent. What made this talk interesting was that I was broadcasted in via a Google Hangout, which to my knowledge, is rather new and I haven't seen it done before. And to be honest, would recommend against unless the tech is there. I made several mistakes, I should have had a mike on because the whole talk had numerous feedback issues, and I really apologize to the audience. We did test it before hand and did not seem to be an issue, but that is the nature of tech. I think in the future alternative means would be advisable. Shortcomings of being broadcasted in, as stated about in "Let there be stoning!" is that you cannot read your audience, which is really a big handicap. Lastly, you just don't feel like you are there, and is a large handicap. 

Webinar Presentations

Mobile Applications Driving Data Efficiencies - Integrating Mobile Technology into the Scientific Environment

TheScientist Sponsored Event

Invited webinar presentation to collaborate on the integration of mobile technology into the scientific workflow. My presentation on "Integrating Mobile Technology into the Scientific Environment" centered on how my experience in the medical work has utilized mobile technologies, including apps and mobile devices. 

Continuing Education Presentations

Smartphones and Table Computers: What Apps are Good for Pharmacists

2014 Massachusetts Society of Health System Pharmacists Annual Meeting, Woburn, MA

Credit Hours: 1.0 Hours

Integration of Mobile Technology into Pharmacy Practice - What does mHealth mean for Pharmacy?

2013 4th Annual Stoklosa Symposium, Woburn, MA

Credit Hours: 1.5 Hours

Chronic Pain in the Older Adult - Pharmaceutical Considerations

2013 Chronic Pain, Older Adults and Mental Health Conference, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, MA

Credit Hours: 1.0 Hours

Other Presentations

In addition to those mentioned above, I also do multiple public outreaches to the community along with workshops. Most of these deal with disease state management or support groups, with topics ranging from cardiovascular health to understanding Medicare to teaching the elderly to search for health information on the internet. Audience sizes for these tend to range from 10-50.