Tips for Your First Conference: Based on My First Experience

As a Social Health Network and patient advocate, it is entirely possible that you will have the opportunity to attend a conference event at one point or another. As an advocate with narcolepsy, I recently had the privilege of attending a national narcolepsy conference in Seattle, Washington. It was a great experience, full of plenty of opportunities for advocacy and networking! Some of my favorite experiences during the conference included networking with medical industry leaders and meeting my fellow patient advocate friends in-person!

Conferences can be a physical and emotional whirlwind, especially for those of us living with chronic illnesses. After my first conference I now have a plethora of tips to share with advocates to help get the most out of a conference experience!

Be ready to meet friends

I’ve been in the narcolepsy advocacy space for a number of years. Over the years I’ve accumulated a large community, full of friends and acquaintances that I am used to communicating with regularly online. Getting to meet these special people in person was wonderful! Although we’d never met each other in person before the conference, I felt like I already knew them. Hanging out with my narcolepsy community was by far the best part of the conference, to me.

Be ready to mingle with lead industry sponsors

One of the reasons I was most excited to attend the conference was so I could brush shoulders with medical industry leaders in the narcolepsy advocacy space. I made sure to have as many conversations as I could with people in this professional setting.

Even though socializing is difficult for me, I invested my time and effort into doing this. And it paid off. I left the conference with a handful of business cards from industry sponsors. As well as a list of new potential opportunities for advocacy in the future!

Rest up when necessary

Being chronically ill means that we don’t get any days off from our condition. Navigating narcolepsy while attending this conference was difficult, but with a little planning ahead I was able to make it work. There were sections of the conference that I planned to skip in order to take naps between my friends’ presentations and my own. I made sure to prioritize the speakers that I knew personally. I felt a twinge of guilt over being unable to attend the full conference - but I reminded myself that in order to show up fully for my community, I had to take care of myself first.

Make time for fun

The best part about attending a conference is being surrounded by a plethora of people that can relate with your experiences as an advocate. Taking the time to have fun with these people, even during off-hours, can be enriching and create many positive memories to hang onto for the future. One of my favorite memories from the conference was hanging out with a friend after the meetings and just smoking together. We talked about life, our dreams, our hopes for the future. It left me feeling so very grateful for my community and all of the work I’ve put into making a life for myself that I can feel proud of. I can hang onto these positive memories even when life throws curveballs at me, which is inevitable.

Have you ever attended a conference? Do you have any tips you’d like to add to this guide?