As usual, WoCoVa has come and gone in a blur; an action packed few days, information overload (in a good way) and meeting so many wonderful people.
As I reflect on my time in Copenhagen, I wanted to share some of my highlights from this flagship global event.
New connections and reconnections
- I truly enjoyed meeting many friends from AVATAR in Australia; Claire Rickard, Sam Keogh, Nicole Marsh, Tricia Kleidon, Caroline Shelverton, Ally Hawthorn and Andrew Bulmer, and fellow Australians such as Evan Alexandrou, Peter Carr and Tim Spencer.
- From AngioDynamics, it was great to reconnect with staff such as Stephanie Pitts, Mark Girard, Kristine Nilson and Jet Buurman. It was also good to meet with John Tierney, despite his footballing affiliations.
- I also met many colleagues from Europe, including Mauro Pittiruti (Italy), Matt Jones, Andrew Jackson and David Wilkes (UK), Declan Brennan and Niall Rooney (Ireland), Evangelos Konstantinou (Greece), Ton van Boxtel (The Netherlands) and Gloria Ortiz Miluy (Spain).
- I enjoyed catching up with my North American friends Nancy Moureau, Amy Bardin, Ken Symington and Jack LeDonne from the USA and Sheryl McDiarmid and Jocelyn Hill from Canada.
Shout out to the Aussies
I’m always amazed how the Australian contingent throw themselves into WoCoVa (as they do at other events), and are so involved in every aspect of the conference. From being committee members, running plenary sessions and being involved in the parallel sessions, to attending all social events, the Aussies were once again 100% committed and ‘present’ at this year’s conference. Often the last to bed, and first to be seated at the 8.30am sessions, I was completed reenergised by the Australians’ vibrancy.
I especially enjoyed our social times; gathered round the hotel TV watching Australia play Denmark in the World Cup, wearing shirts and scarfs and cheering with gusto for the full 90+ minutes of the game.
New products
On the Wednesday evening, I attended the AngioDynamics distributor training session, where Stephanie Pitts and Kristine Nilson presented on the BioFlo Endexo product, the soon to be launched BioFlo Midline collateral review and the BioFlo DuraMax Dialysis Catheter. I found the session interesting, and I can’t wait to learn more and bring these products to the Australian market.
Copenhagen highlights
What a beautiful city! I explored Copenhagen’s wonders as I toured the streets in an open double-decker bus, which is a great way to see the city and learn it’s history.
I enjoyed watching the World Cup in an Irish Pub, eating nachos and drinking local Danish beers. The combination was pretty hard to beat; however meeting Mark Girard and Stephanie Pitts and her friends (purely by accident) in the same bar was great fun.
I also enjoyed dinner, and great company too, at two of the best restaurants in Copenhagen on the Thursday and Friday evening, with views of some of the major sights in the city. It was simply breathtaking.
And the WoCoVa conference…? Here are my top 5 comments before I sign off!
- The Tivoli Congress Hotel was an excellent hotel for the conference to be held at.
- The keynote address was really interesting regarding healthcare, infection control, clean hands save lives and future interventions.
- Yet again, the event was well organised, with a great range of themes and speakers.
- The exhibition and exhibitors were interesting, again meeting old friends at the Vygon, Securacath, SecurePortIV stands, and surprisingly enough the Bard (BD) stand.
- The 2018 event also provided the best lunches that I’ve eaten at a WoCoVa conference (and I have attended the last 4 events). This in itself is high praise!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the event. Shoot me a message on LinkedIn to share your thoughts, highlights and key takeaways from WoCoVa 2018!