Why should professionals go to conferences?

There are plenty of professional organisations globally that represent a wide variety of specialities and professional groupings. One of these is a association referred to as i-Fab. This is the International Foot and Ankle Biomechanics association that is a multidisciplinary group of professionals with an interest in foot and ankle biomechanics. They are comprised of academics, physicians, podiatrists, orthopaedic specialists, engineers, physical therapists and other health care professionals, footwear industry personal, insole/orthotic manufacturers, surgical devices manufacturers and related industries. They are a very diverse association. The association goals to deliver info on the worldwide activities related to foot and ankle biomechanics. They hook up individuals who are working in the foot and ankle biomechanics field irrespective of their location and discipline they are from. In addition, they desire to facilitate debate on important issues of interest for the global group and build coordinated association wide activities. Most importantly they're looking to produce a profile for an worldwide critical mass of research actions that are associated with foot and ankle biomechanics.

To that end among their primary actions is an international convention which is held every two years. This seminar moves around the globe and it has been held by a few different countries. The 2018 iFab conference took place in New York City in the USA. An episode of PodChatLive was about a commentary on that conference. PodChatLive is a regular live show for podiatry practitioners and after the conference the hosts had a conversation of some of the relevant and fascinating papers that were presented at the convention. This chat was live on Facebook. It was later uploaded to YouTube and made available as a podcast edition accessible form the majority of the podcast platforms. It was an interesting strategy taken by the hosts to evaluate a conference, since they routinely have an alternative guest on each week to talk about a subject. It's not known if they are willing to attempt to cover the 2020 meeting.

What has forensics got to do with Podiatry?

PodChatLive is a monthly livestream on Facebook to deliver educational content for the professional growth of Podiatry practitioners and also other health professionals who can be interested in the themes which they cover. While the live is broadcast live on Facebook originally, it is afterwards edited and uploaded to YouTube to reach a wider market. Each live show has a different person or number of guests to talk about a unique topic every time. Queries are answered live by the hosts and guests whilst in the live show on Facebook. Also, there is a audio version of each show on iTunes as well as Spotify and the other usual podcast platforms. They've got obtained a considerable following which keeps increasing. PodChatLive is regarded as one of several ways in which podiatrists are able to get free professional development points or credits.

One of the more recent popular streams was one on forensic podiatry. This is a relatively new part of podiatry and has become a important part of the forensic legal system is an example of how podiatry practitioners are creating an impact outside of the usual part of clinical practice. The key area that the forensic podiatrist is focused on are gait evaluation, the wear on shoes, foot print analysis and the evidence that is left behind at crime scenes. Podiatrists working with law enforcement and present in the court the skills both legally and with their podiatric expertise to compliment the justice services. In the episode of PodChatLive, the hosts talked to Professor. Wesley Vernon, OBE and Mr Jeremy Walker. They covered a brief history of forensic podiatry and how a podiatrist with an interest might think about getting involved. They discussed an average day in the life of a forensic podiatrist, the way they perform an analysis of shoes. Each guests brought up a few of their more unique incidents.