Abstract
INTRODUCTION: "Academic overdose (AO) leads to a state of mental and emotional saturation with constant academic input, to the point that learning and productivity decline and may lead to mental exhaustion and burnout, affecting quality of life (QOL)." Medical conferences (MC) are essential for knowledge dissemination, academic recognition, and professional transformation. This AO stems from the pressure to present research, networking, and demanding clinical and academic responsibilities. Adding to this are unlimited, exhaustive, and irritating queries from patients and attendants arising from internet searches.
DISCUSSION: In recent years, the frequency of MCs and continuous medical educations (CMEs) has increased across local, national, and international levels. While this growth offers educational opportunities, it has also led to content redundancy, extended sessions, and a lack of audience engagement. The healthcare professionals (HCPs) have high academic expectations to be achieved in multiple domains, such as position, sustainability, promotions, and excellence in clinical practice; they also maintain scholarly, educational, and administrative responsibilities, and balancing these is highly challenging and may lead to emotional exhaustion and burnout, exacerbated by academic preparation for MC presentations. MCs have various advantages and disadvantages and require structural reforms to attract more participants and to be recognized as being of very high standards. Restructuring of MCs seems logical, and MCs must remain accessible, affordable, and academically oriented.
CONCLUSION: MCs offer learning, innovations, professional networking, and knowledge and experience sharing, while at the same time needing to be more inclusive, ethical, cost-effective, and image-building opportunities. Associated risks of exhaustion, sleep deprivation, burnout, and financial constraint necessitate restructuring of MCs.