AIOH Conference ‘24 Reflection
Last year, I wrote about imposter syndrome. This year, I think I found the antidote: be so busy you don’t have time to worry.
This year, I:
Attended 2 CES
Hosted a live “Ask Me Anything”
Presented a concurrent session
Participated in the first conference debate
Met new and old friends
Went to the usual dinners and lectures
Successfully ran for the 2025 council
I was still nervous to present in front of my peers. After all, “who am I to tell anyone anything?”. But the amount of things to do made it difficult to ruminate. As soon as one thing was over, it was time to rush to the next.
Throughout the week, I was given some advice I’d like to share:
People are lovely
We are so lucky in our community. While there are very strongly held opposing views, everyone I talked to was supportive and patient. I won’t name people out of respect, but the list of amazing people there is a long one. There is no secret here. Simply walking up and introducing yourself erodes imposter syndrome because people are lovely. Almost everyone is willing to give you time.
Embrace being dumb
I was shocked (and a bit embarrassed) how little I really understood about the sampling and analytical techniques I use daily. My default reaction was to dismiss it as unimportant. As quick as I could, I tried to reframe this to “if I don’t know, chances are that others don’t know” and “you can only learn by realising what you don’t know”. The first thing I did upon my return was to talk to our lab and pull out the standards. All the information is there, waiting to be learnt.
Think selfishly
I find it very helpful to creating or presenting ‘stuff’ to frame it as “this is just for me”. I want to learn about this topic, and summarising it into a post or powerpoint will help me solidify the knowledge. If other people find value, great. If not, fine. It is ironic given that my last presentation was about empathising with your audience. But it’s a great way to avoid over thinking everything to the point of paralysis.
Act unselfishly
It really doesn’t take much effort to make a positive impact. I learnt you don’t have to make huge promises or commitments. A few words of encouragement or paying full attention during a conversation might be all that’s needed. Having been on both sides, I think it’s easy to underestimate how a small interaction can have a meaning impact.
I haven’t properly thought about how to improve for the next 12 months. But it is that time of year for reflection.
Reach out to me - how was your conference, your year in hygiene, and what does 2025 look like for you?