Strategic Conference Support

I supported several Continuing Medical Education (CME) conferences in the hematology and oncology space. These conferences brought together top physicians, researchers, and healthcare professionals to share the latest clinical insights. My role centered around enhancing the educational impact and long-term engagement of these events by applying instructional design principles to traditionally lecture-driven formats.

This work sample focuses on to two key initiatives:

Conference Audit
Speaker Rubric

These experiences reflect the growing need for instructional design in live CME environments—where emerging content must be delivered with both clarity and impact. It’s been fulfilling to serve as a bridge between learning science and clinical expertise, helping elevate the standard of education for these vital audiences.

Conference Audit: Designing for Engagement

During a hematology conference, I led a comprehensive instructional design audit aimed at increasing future attendee engagement and enriching the learning experience.

Below are excerpts from the report.

Key contributions included:

Conducted stakeholder interviews with attendees, speakers, and organizers on-site to surface needs and pain points.
Evaluated session structure, audience interaction, and speaker logistics.
Recommended strategies to embed inquiry-based learning approaches such as case-based discussions, peer engagement, and small group interactions.
Proposed enhancements to speaker preparation and agenda design, including interactive formats, clearer session flow, and strategic technology use (e.g., QR codes, audience response systems, gamification through the CVENT app).
Advised on diversity of session types for multidisciplinary audiences (nurses, pharmacists, APPs).

One of the most meaningful outcomes was shifting the perception of what a medical conference could be. I worked closely with the planning team to reimagine the event not just as a content delivery mechanism, but as an opportunity for active, connected learning.

Conference Speaker Rubric: Elevating Educational Quality

For an upcoming conference on cellular therapy, I assisted in designing a speaker evaluation rubric. The goal was to provide speakers with a tool to support self-evaluation of their presentation style and encourage greater audience engagement. Additionally, we provide support on how to implement the rubric and introduce it to the speakers.

My contributions included:

Contributing to the development of a rubric rooted in adult learning theory, with clear criteria around structure, interactivity and audience engagement.
Collaborating with conference leadership to align rubric categories with CME accreditation standards and learning objectives.
Ensuring the rubric was a user-friendly version that speakers could reference during preparation, helping them understand what "good" looked like and why it mattered.

Sample Speaker Rubric.pdf