by Linda Hutkin-Slade, MSW, LCSW, OSW-C
2023 AOSW Annual Conference Co-Chair

For me, the 2023 Annual AOSW Conference will be the culmination of months of planning, talking, emailing and wrangling; plus, hours of reading countless abstracts and working with an amazing group of dedicated OSWs.

Long before I started working in oncology and joined AOSW, I was very involved in the Society for Transplant Social Workers. Both organizations offered similar things to me – passionate colleagues dedicated to the well-being of our patients and their families.

Going to the Transplant Social Work Conference was always a highlight of my year – several days away from work, away from my husband and kids, a chance to learn, meet up with old friends and colleagues, and an opportunity to explore a new city. It felt like going to sleepaway camp, only with better food. I would return to my hospital and team refreshed, reenergized and with many ideas for new programs and services.

I went to my first AOSW Conference with similar expectations, but I didn’t have the same experience. I connected with the passion shared by the OSWs, and I realized how much I could learn from them, but something was different.

It felt like the first day at a new school – not knowing anyone, feeling lost and concerned about finding my way through a program filled with wonderful presentations. At lunch I stayed in the back of the room and nervously introduced myself to others at my table. I wasn’t proactive or noticeably sociable. No one there would even remember that I attended the conference because I so successfully blended in with the wallpaper.

But at subsequent conferences, despite my social anxiety, I donned my professional persona and attempted to make some connections. Last year, I volunteered for the conference planning committee and went into Raleigh with friendships formed during the months of Zoom meetings. My feeling of going to sleepaway camp returned.

Here are some suggestions for ANYONE attending our conference in New Orleans because you aren’t going to want to miss this one! We have a great program with over 50 different topics; and it may be difficult to decide which sessions to attend!

If you are shy like me and/or a first-time attendee: 

1. Get involved in AOSW, join a committee, and meet colleagues virtually before you meet them in person.

2. Try on an alternate personality, be comfortable with the discomfort, and pretend to be someone with confidence, i.e., fake it until you make it. Mentally strike your Superman pose.

3. Introduce yourself on SWON as a first-time attendee and start a conversation about the conference, find a conference buddy, and/or arrange to meet up with other OSWs for specific sessions and/or something fun.

4. When you are at the conference read name tags. Say hello to people. Strike up a conversation. Find a member of the planning committee, find a board member, a SIG leader, a state rep, someone from your part of the country. Better yet, look for me, Linda Hutkin-Slade.

5. Don’t be afraid to talk to other attendees while you are waiting for the session to start or at meals or visiting exhibitors. Plan to have some conversation icebreakers in your toolbox, “Is this your first conference?” “What have you liked best so far?” “What is your can’t miss session?” “Have you been to New Orleans before? If so, what shouldn’t I miss? If not, what are you excited to see?” “Let’s meet up for lunch/drinks/dinner…”

6. Suggest a meet up via the Whova app.

7. Attend our free AOSW Webinar on May 25 about the conference! Your conference planning committee will be hosting a webinar to get you totally ready.

If you have been at the conference before: 

1. Read name tags. Find first timers. Invite them to sit with you at lunch, in a session, join you for drinks, dinner, a walk, a tour, etc.

2. Look for people standing or sitting alone. Introduce yourself. Tell them what you like about AOSW, why the conference is important to you, and offer your best tips for a successful conference.

3. Start a conversation on SWON, offer to be a conference buddy or mentor.

4. Suggest a meet-up via Whova.

5. Attend our AOSW Webinar on May 25 to offer your suggestions and to meet some new people!

Come join us in New Orleans! And when you do, make sure to introduce yourself to me!