by Daniela Gitlin, MD
The NSNC conference is scheduled to happen live June 9-12, 2022 at the Doubletree by Hilton, Birmingham Perimeter Park in Alabama. You, like me, might be of two minds about attending. You might have various COVID-related concerns. But also, you might really, really want to go.
Do you crave contact, with real people, in real-time, without technology in the middle? I do. I yearn to mingle and meet you to talk shop. I long to make eye contact and give you my full attention (and vice versa) for an extended period of time—say five minutes, let’s not get crazy— without the constant distraction of sidebar chat, text messages, and alerts that are a part of being online.
Don’t get me wrong, Zoom and video chat have made life bearable since the pandemic shutdown of March 2020. I attended the virtual Erma Bombeck Humor Writers Workshop in October 2020, and the virtual NSNC conference in April 2021. Both were amazing, with phenomenal keynote speakers and workshops.
Yet I felt like an audience member watching a show, rather than a participant with access to everyone there. The continuous sidebar chat proved useless as a way to meaningfully connect even with people I knew, much less with those I didn’t. By the time I finished typing a response to a post, the stream had long moved on. Meanwhile, I missed what the speaker was saying.
Then there were the countless distortions that are a function of the way video images are digitally encoded, decoded and adjusted. The image often froze, blurred, dropped and worst of all, got out of sync with the audio. We can’t help it—our brains unceasingly strain to fill in the gaps. As a psychiatrist, I’ve found myself exhausted after a full day of working with patients via video chat. And, often felt isolated and disconnected from them too, which is awful. Three full days of virtual conferencing affected me the same way.
I really, really want to attend the NSNC live conference in Birmingham this coming June, which will not offer a Zoom option. Oh, the joy of direct human contact! Of impromptu and delightful social interactions! With attendees and speakers!
But. COVID. The ongoing pandemic, whatever its iteration, may still be going in June, with risks, such as flight issues and health concerns even for the vaccinated and boostered.
The NSNC is committed to everyone feeling safe. Vaccination will be required to register and attend. Let’s be clear. At this time, Alabama is a COVID-vulnerable state with a 48% vaccination rate. However, Jefferson County, where Birmingham is located, has a 68.2% vaccination rate as of January 10, 2022. Alabama’s rural areas bring down the statewide vaccination average. The hopeful news is that the CDC anticipates the current surge to decline by spring. There’s time to wait and see how the dice roll before the registration deadline. Fingers crossed.
Daniela Gitlin is an NSNC member and rural psychiatrist in private practice in upstate New York. Her clinical memoir Practice, Practice, Practice: This Psychiatrist’s Life was selected a Finalist by the 2021 International Book Awards. She blogs at www.danielagitlin.com
