key: cord-0767384-d57ean6u
authors: Schipper, Inger
title: Zooming out
date: 2022-03-23
journal: Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg
DOI: 10.1007/s00068-022-01945-8
sha: 601feaee0a42d88d01a728a7ac1f068a7f09f996
doc_id: 767384
cord_uid: d57ean6u

nan

the effort to physically attend, at the cost of extra travel time and being less efficient, but enjoys the company of the people instead of staring at the camera? Or the impression of the very important and busy surgeon running from OR to OR, attending virtual meetings in between, but being very efficient and 'green'.

On the internet one can find impressive amounts of stats on meetings during the Covid-19 pandemic. Not a lot of remarkable scientific research on the topic has been done though, whereas the structural implementation of virtual meetings into our daily practice has brought forward a whole new area of research. Much of the research seems to relate to the obvious, such as the fatigue that looking into the camera causes, the discovery of upsides of virtual meeting, and scientists that want virtual meetings to stay.

In 2015, a Harvard based neurology research group developed the Should I travel Index, the so-called ShITI, as a tool to determine whether it is worth the effort and time to travel to a conference [1] . They included time, distance, cost, the fun-factor, networking, home-related conflicts, and the size of the audience, if you were presenting, into the calculation. However, in the recent situation, facing the covid pandemic, and all of the pros and cons concerning live and virtual meetings that have introduced new factors of influence, the calculation had to be adjusted to the ShIZ index (Should I Zoom) [2] . The calculator now includes the variables scientific value of the meeting, interaction, Wi-Fi quality, beverage supply, time zone, pajamas possibility, complexity of web, and home distraction or office distraction. A score ≥ 3 means definitely Zoom, ≤ 1 indicates a waste of your time, go do something more useful.

Since taking over the helm of the European Society for Trauma and Emergency, almost all ESTES executive board and ECTES meetings have been via video conference. And looking in retrospect, these meetings all scored high ShIZindex scores, certainly above 3. They were productive and inspiring, and certainly very efficient.

Nevertheless, I miss the face to face interaction, the camaraderie, meeting new people, having a beer and sharing anecdotes after a lengthy meeting, resulting in new friendships and the inspiration for new studies and innovation of care.

The same applies to the conferences that I attended last year. All but one were virtual conferences, including ECTES 2021. Tina Gaarder has truly elevated organizing and conducting the ECTES to an art form. After having set up the ECTES 2020 as one of the most multidisciplinary meetings that year, sadly enough it had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Nevertheless, Tina and her Norwegian team managed to run a very successful and well attended virtual ECTES 2021 meeting. And this all implies that the forthcoming ECTES conference will be the spectacular capstone of three years Norwegian ECTES preparation. Something to really look forward to! For all of you tired of Zoom meetings and conferences, rest assured. We have decided that this conference will be live, or not at all.

So delete the Should I Zoom factor, and start all over with the If that's a bit over your head, just go to www. shoud litra vel. org, a website set up by the authors of the paper of the same name [1] . I just did so for ECTES 2022 Oslo, and, not surprisingly, scored way beyond the maximum: The European Congress of Trauma and Emergency Surgery 2022 is a must-go! So. Maybe a bit overdue, but if you still are looking for a good New Year's Resolution, I have one for you:

(1)

Go to www. estes-congr ess. org. Read through the program and be taken away by the overwhelming number and quality of speakers-both national i.e. Norwegian, and international-that will present in Oslo during the ECTES 2022. Register for the conference. And join us on the 24 th of April in enjoying the real thing again! A truly high standard, medical, physical, meeting in a mesmerizing environment! And yes, we will meet each other again there, exchange ideas, have discussions, listen to inspiring presentations, generate brilliant ideas and future projects, eat Norwegian food, have some drinks and get unforgettable impressions of Oslo.

I look forward to see you there. Inger Schipper, trauma surgeon. President of the European Society for Trauma and Emergency Surgery.

To travel or not to travel: the modern day struggle of the academic researcher

To zoom or not to zoom: the should i travel index revisited during the coronavirus disease pandemic