The BeSST (Behavioural and Social Sciences Teaching in Medicine) hybrid conference will be an opportunity to come together as a community of practice in person and virtually to: share experiences; learn from examples of good practice and innovation; discuss challenges and rewards; and explore the integration of the social and behavioural sciences in health professions’ education. This year’s conference these is ‘Interrogating integration:  social and behavioural sciences within health professions education’.

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The conference will be held in Edinburgh on Sunday 27th August, 09.30- 15.00 (BST) with options to join in person or virtually. For those attending the AMEE conference in Glasgow, we have timed the day so it is possible to get back to Glasgow for the opening of the conference.

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Conference fee (all fees go towards supporting the work of BeSST including the website costs and paying our patient and public involvement advocate for their time on the committee).

£50 (In person)

£30 (Online)

 

To register for a place please go to

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/besst-conference-2023-tickets-528409937347

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Conference theme

While we welcome presentations on all topics related to social and behavioural sciences (SBS) in health professions’ education, we are particularly interested in those related to integration.

Integration has been at the centre of medical education reforms since the 1990s. It has been (or is currently being) adopted by medical schools globally  in response to demands for more clinically focused, forward thinking curricula which are both patient and student centred.  Within the medical education literature there are over 1300 articles with the term integration in their title. Yet few discuss, in any depth, the process of integration and indeed the extent to which the overarching pedagogical goals of integration can be or are achieved.

Possible topics are:

• The practice of integrating the SBS into medical education: examples of SBS approaches, sessions or syllabi that have been found to work or not (including problems, solutions, and insights)

• Arguments for or against the integration of the social and behavioural sciences in medical education and health professions education more broadly. Is integration a good thing?

• Theory and integration (for example pedagogical, sociological, anthropological and psychological theory with respect to integration)

• Assessments: what does integration mean for the assessment of SBS?

 

Formats

We will accept a variety of presentation styles including creative, as well as more traditional, formats. Abstracts are welcome from presenters at all stages of their career, including medical students.

We invite presentations in the following formats. Indicative timings are given:

• Research/evaluation: presentations of an original research or evaluation study that is theoretically relevant and methodologically sound (10-15 minutes)

• Practice: presentation of changes to practice (what was done, why, did it work? (10-15 minutes)

• Point of view: is there something you feel passionately about, a topic that you feel needs to be discussed, or something that particularly frustrates you? No evidence is needed, just your opinions! (10 minutes)

• Storytelling: a reflective format in which you tell the story of your experiences. Feel free to be creative! (15 mins)

• Poster: You may present in any of the above categories, in poster form. There will an opportunity to view posters during the conference; if you are not able to be there in person, you may still submit a poster. All posters will also be made available on the BeSST website.

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Abstract Submission

To submit your abstract please email: besstnetwork@gmail.com

The deadline for submission of abstracts is Friday 14th April 2023 (23:59 BST).

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Please include the following (max 400 words):

• Abstract title

• Abstract authors (up to 6 authors may be listed)

• Abstract presenter and contact email

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Present the abstract in the following format:

• Research/Evaluation: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion & Conclusion

• Practice: Background, Summary of Work, Discussion & Conclusion

• Point of View: Summary of the issue to be discussed and point of view presented.

• Storytelling: Summary of the focus and the methods for presenting the ‘story’

• Poster: provide the information relating to one of the above (depending on which category the poster falls into).

 

Please get in touch with besstnetwork@gmail.com if you have any questions or would like further details.