Conference bootcamp offers a compact route into healthcare innovation
Full citation: Succi MD, Cheng D, Andriole KP, Fintelmann FJ, Flores EJ, Zhang HM, Gee MS, Coburn CM, Brink JA. Integrating a healthcare innovation bootcamp into an international medical conference to democratize innovation learning. Nature Biotechnology. 2023;41(4):579-581. doi:10.1038/s41587-023-01738-3
Online first: April 17, 2023.
A new study from IO Lab examines whether a medical conference can provide a practical setting for innovation education. Published in Nature Biotechnology, the report describes an eight-hour MESH bootcamp held at the Radiological Society of North America’s annual meeting. Participants completed the program with higher immediate knowledge scores and greater confidence in several skills.
The course took place at RSNA 2021 and included ten sessions. Its subjects ranged from intellectual property and starting a company to building a research laboratory, financing an idea and presenting a business proposal. The format brought several parts of medical technology development into a single day for people already attending a professional meeting.
Thirty-one participants completed the demographic survey. Many arrived with an interest in applying the material: 74.2% planned to take a role in a startup, and 58.1% reported having an idea they considered commercially viable. Those responses describe the group’s intentions and help explain why a focused innovation course may appeal to conference attendees.
The researchers used a nine-question assessment before and after the bootcamp. Twenty-eight people completed the initial test and thirty-one completed the final test. Median scores increased from 44% to 67%. The responses were anonymous and unpaired, so the analysis compared the groups’ scores without tracking each person’s change.
Self-reported knowledge improved in several areas, including pitch presentations, intellectual property, company formation and venture financing. The study did not find statistically significant changes in every subject. Reported gains in artificial intelligence and leadership did not meet that threshold. The results help distinguish where the compact course appeared most useful from topics that may require a different approach.
The study involved a small, self-selected group and measured outcomes immediately after instruction. It could not determine whether participants retained the material or later developed successful products or companies. Use of the same assessment before and after the course may also have influenced scores. No patient outcomes were evaluated.
The report offers a model for introducing innovation skills through an existing professional gathering. Organizers considering a similar course can use its curriculum and assessments as a starting point. Follow-up after attendees return to clinical work would help determine whether a one-day program leads to sustained learning, useful collaborations and further development of the ideas that brought participants to the course.