Conference cancelled: The equitable flip side of the academic surgery coin

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has converted the world to a “new normal” during which nothing is what it was before. By July 2020, over ten million people had been confirmed with COVID-19 and over 500,000 people have died.1 Understandably, public health measures put a halt on public events at the start of the pandemic. Around the world, mass gatherings a nd academic conferences have been cancelled; others have found innovative means to shift virtually. Previous outbreaks have all resulted in some form of social reform for the better: the bubonic plague improved worker conditions, cholera outbreaks improved water sanitation, and HIV/AIDS led to impro ved community-based health education--now, COVID-19 could bring an unexpected silver lining: a paradigm shift in the way we exchange academic information and hold conferences into the virtual world.
Source: American Journal of Surgery - Category: Surgery Authors: Source Type: research