A productive lunchtime for Medtrade attendees

Medtrade attendees have to find time in their busy schedules for lunch, so why not make it a productive repast? By combining a box lunch with roundtable discussions, show organizers are inviting the Monday crowd to a noontime event they call Lunch & Learn at the Georgia World Congress Center. For a $15 or $20 entrance fee, attendees can break bread with some of Medtrade's most popular seminar speakers, such as Louis Feuer, Miriam Lieber, Collette Weil and Bruce Brothis.

The Lunch & Learn concept debuted at Medtrade Spring and it got such a great response that it is being brought back for the fall show. Organizer Mary Ellen Conway says people like the atmosphere because it gives them a chance to get useful information while having a bite in an informal setting.

"The idea is not to hear a presentation, but to talk one-on-one with speakers and peers," said Conway, president of Bethesda, MD-based Capital Healthcare Group. "People want to hear what others have to say about the challenges they are dealing with. They can get some great ideas about sales and marketing, the regulatory climate, operational issues and more."

The roundtable format steers away from the typical lecture or panel presentations, giving attendees more of a chance to actively participate in the discussions. Medtrade educational advisory board members will sit in to help facilitate table conversations.

"People just want to hear from others informally," said Conway.

Each table will have a different speaker and topic and people can switch tables after 20 minutes.

There is a limited amount of seating at the roundtable event and seating will be on a first-come, first-served basis, said Conway.