I walked out the door of the RDS on the evening of November 2, and I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t emit a little sigh of relief. Relief that we had just closed yet another successful HMI conference.
Success can be measured in terms of the number of delegates who attended and there were over 300 delegates registered this year. It can also be measured by the level of interest shown by our sponsors and again we were very fortunate this year, with the number of sponsors who supported us. A conference doesn’t exist without delegates and it cannot take place without sponsors. One of our aims within the HMI is to make it accessible and of interest to as broad a range of health care managers as possible. Our hope was that the conference would attract managers from all areas of the health services and from across the country. I can tell you that I met colleagues from all four corners of the country, from hospitals (statutory and voluntary), NAS, Primary Care, Health and Wellbeing, Mental Health, Private Long term care services, Health Finance, HSE HR, Corporate HSE services the Department of Health and a host of others at the RDS on that day.
Other measures of success are less tangible. How the various speakers and topics complemented each other during the day and how they were received. How the delegates engaged with the presentations and more importantly with each other. All very difficult to measure but my sense from the buzz around the RDS on November 2 was that it worked. As a networking event and even just from an enjoyment perspective, I think it worked!
So, the question in my head as I drove West after the Conference, was how do we build on the successes of the conference? How do we continue to engage Health Managers, involve them in debate and discussion? How can our conference be used as a platform to develop the work of the HMI into 2023 and beyond? It’s a question that remains open in my mind and one on which I’d love to hear your views. If you attended our conference a few weeks ago, what aspects of it did you enjoy and get most value from? What would you like to see the HMI taking on in this coming year? I’d really love to hear from you at president@hmi.ie. In the meantime, I would ask you to continue to support the work of the HMI.
Have a great Christmas.
