Financial Implications of Vascular Surgery Conference Fees

Conferences are an important venue for trainees and students to engage in scholarly activities and networking. However, cost presents a significant consideration for students looking to attend conferences as institutional funding varies. In this study, we analyze the attendance costs of vascular conferences.

Thirty-one vascular surgery conferences were identified with 12 regional and 6 national, and 13 international. Invitation-only conferences were excluded from the analysis. Cost of attendance was stratified by early and regular registration timing and attending, trainee, and student status. Additionally, conference websites were queried individually for scholarship opportunities. Data was presented descriptively and compared using a t-test or chi-squared test where appropriate using R-studio.

National and international conferences were associated with significantly higher registration costs compared to regional conferences across nearly all trainee and student fee categories (P < 0.05), with national conferences also significantly higher than regional conferences for physician categories (P < 0.05). National and international conferences did not significantly differ from one another in any fee category. Registration cost was highest for nonmember physicians paying regular rate (regional: $566 ± 323 versus national: $1,182 ± 547, P < 0.01) and lowest for member medical students registering early (regional: $65 ± 93 versus national: $362 ± 379, P < 0.05; versus international: $244 ± 151, P < 0.01). Regional, national, and international conferences had similar scholarship opportunities (25.0% versus 50.0% versus 38.5%, P = 0.55). For students, society membership is not associated with meaningful cost savings across any conference category.

Regional meetings are an affordable venue for students to engage in scholarly activities and learn about advancements in vascular surgery. Fees for national and international societies may present a significant barrier to attendance for trainees and medical students. More scholarship opportunities should be provided to aid in conference attendance for students and trainees.