IPNA Guidelines Workshop: 3 Days in a Nutshell

The preparation for this workshop started back in 2018 when it was first discussed at the IPNA Council Meeting in San Diego. Preparations for the physical meeting in Taipei, during the ACPN Congress, were in the full swing when the Covid-19 started and affected the further organization.

The IPNA Guidelines Workshop, so far, the biggest online event organized by IPNA, took place two weeks ago on March 29-31. The intensive program was divided into three days considering the different time zones. The workshop was dedicated to guideline methodology, distribution and implementation and a total of more than 20 new guidelines were presented by international experts.

Prof. Dieter Haffner, the Guidelines Workshop Chair, reflects on when it all started: “The planning already started on October 24, 2018 at the IPNA council meeting/ ASN meeting in San Diego, where I first spoke with Prof. Lin and Prof. Yap about the possibility to combine the workshop with the ACPN2020 which was moved to 2021 for reasons we all know,” says Prof. Haffner. He adds that he felt relieved when it was finally decided to hold the workshop fully virtual. “We had frequent discussions about that, but the situation worldwide was still unstable so that was the best decision,” he says.

The scientific program was developed by Prof. Haffner and the Best Practices and Guidelines Committee, chaired by Olivia Boyer and Pankaj Hari: 9 hours of the broadcasting, 46 speakers, 356 registrations and around 160 participants constantly joined. Thanks to the sponsors, Kyowa Kirin, Advicienne and Amgen, the registrations were free for everyone and the recordings will be available shortly with free-access on the IPNA website.