Annual conferences have always been a centrepiece of the professional development calendar for the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA).  Unfortunately Covid-19 has caused the cancellation of three national conferences, denying the Association their showcase events with associated revenues.  A significant pivot was required to continue to serve their membership.

This year the APA have launched the Thrive Virtual Series – an online conference commencing on 27 April 2022.  Selecting from the invited presenters of the planned conference, Thrive has 50 presentations across 12 sessions.  But unlike a face-to-face conference where fifteen sessions may occur each day over three consecutive days, Thrive has the twelve sessions occurring weekly over a three month period – perhaps making it the world’s longest conference.

The sessions cover many clinical physiotherapy areas, and like traditional conferences you can tailor your selection of sessions.  Unlike a traditional conference you need only purchase the sessions you wish to attend, at prices ranging from AU$35 – $70 (for APA members). Or register for the entire live series package for a heavily discounted rate of AU$295 (for APA members).

Being delivered online the conference is accessible anywhere in the world.  So with no incurred time, travel and accommodation costs, Thrive is available to everyone on the planet and is one of the best value conference available.  And if the timing of a session is not right for you, simply watch the recorded session at a time of your own convenience.

We are very proud to have the APA using the domain name www.thrive.physio for the conference website and encourage you to explore the amazing range of quality upcoming presentations and speakers outlined on the website, starting with Managing Musculoskeletal Pain today, 27 April 2022.

Like all problems, the Covid-19 induced need to pivot the delivery of professional development has created new opportunities for the profession and will likely forever change the way we do conferences in the future.  The APA has demonstrated terrific flexibility to embrace digital delivery and is fast becoming a global leader in the profession.