Q&A with Allison Rafti from AAMI
In today's edition of the MedWrench blog I want to highlight my recent Q&A with Allison Rafti, Director of Membership Marketing at AAMI.
Tue May 17 2016
In today's edition of the MedWrench blog I want to highlight my recent Q&A with Allison Rafti, Director of Membership Marketing at AAMI. Allison has been with AAMI for the past three years and this will be her fourth AAMI Annual Conference and Expo. During our Q&A we touched on exciting new additions to the AAMI conference, changes to exhibiting hours, career/educational opportunities plus more. See below for the Q&A.
Allison Rafti, Director of Membership Marketing at AAMI
Does AAMI have anything new that you will be offering at this year's conference?
Express Learning Sessions are a really exciting addition to the conference. These sessions will be held in the AAMI Spotlight Theater in the expo hall and are a great way for attendees to experience 30 minute sessions about IT issues, acquisitions, benchmarking and other healthcare technology topics. We have expanded the exhibit hall hours giving attendees even more time to network and visit exhibitors, which is an exciting change this year.
The Express Learning Sessions sound like a great concept. Does AAMI also offer a Career Center or sessions/classes focused on Careers within the HTM Field?
We absolutely do! This conference is definitely a can’t-miss event for students, new professionals and those searching for a job. Our Career Center is open daily from 8am – 5pm and will have dedicated tables for recruiters, and other employers, so wear your best outfit and bring your resume! There are also multiple professional development sessions as part of the educational lineup. The session I’m most excited about is the Student Roundtable. This is a really interactive session featuring three panelists at different stages in their careers. It provides students and new professionals an opportunity to learn from the panelists’ career mistakes, ask questions of those in a hiring role and hear about innovative ways people learned how to network and find a job within the HTM field.
Other than the exhibit hours, does AAMI have any other networking events that provide attendees the chance to interact with other vendors and attendees?
AAMI 2016 definitely offers a lot of networking opportunities. We kick it off Friday night with a Welcome Reception for all attendees. Each evening a happy hour will be hosted in the exhibit hall which is another great time to meet and greet vendors. I really hope to see all attendees and exhibitors at our Appreciation Reception being held on Sunday night at Fergslive! It’s just a short walk from the convention center and is a great way to meet fellow attendees. There is definitely no shortage of networking opportunities and I hope to meet everyone at each of these events!
Is the Awards Ceremony by invite only or can anyone attend? How many awards are given out?
The awards reception is open to all attendees and is being held Saturday night from 6 – 7:30pm. There are over 15 awards and scholarships awarded during the event, but it’s not your typical awards ceremony. We keep the evening fun and celebratory so it is a great way to meet and greet winners as well as network with other attendees and celebrate.
Who is this year’s Keynote Speaker and is this immediately following the Awards Ceremony?
We have changed up the schedule a bit so the keynote speaker does not follow the awards ceremony anymore! This year there will be three excellent keynote speakers – one presenting each day of the conference. Scott Berkun is our first keynote on Saturday and will be presenting a session titled “Debunking the Myths of Innovation”. The Dwight E. Harken Memorial Lecture keynote speakers on Sunday are Frank J. Overdyk, MSEE, MD and Nat Sims, MD. Doctors Overdyk and Sims will speak about improving patient outcomes and patient monitoring. And last but not certainly not least, George Mills of The Joint Commission will be our final keynote speaker on Monday. George will also host a Q&A breakout session immediately following his keynote.
When is the final deadline to register?
The sooner you register the better but we do accept registrations on-site as well. There are a host of registration options to fit your budget and what parts of the conference you would like to experience. You can view all of the registration options here.
If you are attending the 2016 AAMI Annual Conference and Expo please be sure to drop by booth # 1013 to visit with MedWrench!