Delfini Summer Seminar 2010
July 28 & 29, 2010—Portland, Oregon

Join us and improve your critical appraisal skills. Without highly developed critical appraisal skills, the quality of studies tends to look “OK.” In fact, there is a world of difference between “knowing the evidence” and knowing which evidence is valid & clinically useful and which is not. We aim to make critical appraisal of the medical literature meaningful, useful, simple and doable...

Limited Space!
Early discounts.
Student rates.

Program
Venue
Seminar Topics
Facts
Dates & Times
Location
Registration
Mailing Address
Email Address
Refunds
Privacy
Schmooze
About Portland
Brochure

Contact Us

Testimonials
About Us
Delfini Services

For more about us, go to.....
delfini.org

Also creators of
medicalleaders.org

About the Program
Join us in stunning, lively, quirky, beautiful and friendly Portland, Oregon for two days of learning and scintillating discussion about key issues in critical appraisal of the medical literature.

This is a rare opportunity for healthcare professionals and students to engage with us in addressing assorted special topics in critical appraisal. Others are welcome, of course. This seminar is structured to be of particular interest to those looking to enhance their skills in critical appraisal of the medical literature.

This is a more advanced program. However, attendance does not require knowledge of evidence evaluation essentials, although it helps. We are structuring this as a stand-alone that you can back-fill if you need to.

We will provide a quick refresher that will establish a general framework for everyone. Participants will receive a packet of our practical tools. For less-experienced attendees, we will provide helpful tips for getting up to speed.

And, as everyone knows, our programs are anything but boring! And—as those who have attended before can attest—we are always generous with our ongoing support outside of our training programs.

About the Venue
We think you will agree with us that this seminar will be especially wonderful because it will be in such a splendid venue. We will meet at the once-upon-a-time Multnomah Hotel which is still as wondrous and fabulously palatial in its current reincarnation as the Portland Embassy Suites as it ever was. (Click here for its history and see here for pictures today.)

And maybe you will want to take a little side vacation in this incredible city—even if you live here! Forget what you hear about the rain in the Pacific Northwest—while it could happen, summers in Portland are unusually blessed and beautiful! And even the rain this time of year is both kind, soft and kind of nice. It makes us pretty and keeps us green! But we will do an anti-rain dance in hopes of keeping you dry.

Topics to be addressed include—

• Refresher of Critical Appraisal Essentials
• Tips for Helping You Save Time!
• Understanding Clinically Meaningful Benefit & Helping Patients
• Class Effect Issues (To Be or Not)
• Estimates of Effect & Confidence Intervals—Your New Best Friend (Seriously, Understandably & Easily)
• Capricious Chance
• Selected Analysis Issues (such as what are the main issues with those ubiquitous Time-to-Event Analyses—aka "Surviving Survival Curves")
• Comparative Design Issues (namely Non-Inferiority & Equivalence Trials)
• Head-to-Head Issues vs Head-on About the Placebo Design
• When All is Not Parallel: Cross-over Design
• Oncology Endpoints
• Diagnostic Testing & Understanding Measures of Test Function
• Issues with Screening & Related Biases
• Odds Ratios, Relative Risk & What You Can and Cannot Reliably Calculate for Usefulness
• Conducting Re-analysis for Missing Data—Points & Tips

And including Quick Tips on—

• Shortcuts for Using Systematic Reviews
• Working with (Some) Observational Data
• "Pragmatic" Designs
• "Comparative Effectiveness" Issues
• Tips on Synthesizing Evidence
• Wording Conclusions: Tips for Avoiding Misleading Statements & Wording Suggestions
• Searching & Quality Information Sources
• Communicating Evidence to Others—Especially Patients
• Quality Improvement Project Advice (including tips on Measurement—even Performance Measurement)
• Evidence-based Committees (Pharmacy & Therapeutics, Medical Technology Assessment, Clinical Guideline Development Groups, Economic Assessment Projects, Quality Improvement Projects, Journal Clubs & Other Evidence-based Working Groups)

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Fast Facts & Fine Print

This is a no-frills *keep-it-simple* program:

1. new! Continuing education credit (11 hours) may be earned by pharmacists in the States of Washington and Oregon.
2. For those of other professions or in other states, no continuing education credit is offered—but you will receive valuable, practical information and learn key skills which will improve your ability to evaluate studies and perform professionally.
3. You are on your own for meals and beverages; great choices abound. This is a foodie city. We will give you great tips!
4. No sleeping rooms are held, but there are many wonderful hotel choices around including the Embassy Suites. We will give you suggestions upon request. new! If you make your hotel arrangements directly with Nichole Cooper before June 28th, a discounted rate at the Embassy Suites is available to program attendees. The rate includes complimentary breakfast and evening manager's reception. Nichole's contact information is here.
5. Registration fees are not available by day. This is a total package.
6. Select "Evidence Essentials" handouts and tools will be provided.

Dates & Times

• Wednesday, July 28, 2010: 8 AM—4 PM
• Thursday, July 29, 2010: 8 AM—3 PM

Location

• Embassy Suites in the Historic Multnomah Hotel
  319 SW Pine Street, Portland, Oregon
  United States 97204-2726
  Tel: 1-503-279-9000 Fax: 1-503-497-9051
• Wednesday—Eric Hauser Room
• Thursday—Fireside Room

Registration & Payment

To secure your spot, we need your payment and the following information which can be mailed or emailed to us:

1. Name
2. Email Address
3. Mailing Address
4. Phone Number
5. Profession or Student or Other (please specify)
6. Company

To Pay

Fees are as follows (all in US Currency) —

• $575.00—Before July 1, 2010
• $625.00—On or after July 1, 2010
• $500.00—Full-time students

You can mail your check, along with the information above, to—

• Michael Stuart
  6831 31st Ave NE
  Seattle WA USA 98115

Or you can pay by credit card (US Currency will be automatically calculated by PayPal)—be sure to email us the above registration information items 1-6.

Student rates are available to full-time students only and are only available by choosing the Student Rate at the time of payment.

Registration Fees

Before July 1, 2010 $575.00 On or after July 1, 2010 $625.00 Full-time Student $500.00

Refunds

Refunds must be requested in writing to Dr. Stuart at the above address or by email to delfini(at)delfini.org. Requests must be received no later than July 9th for any refund. Refunds will be by check only and mailed to the registration mailing address.

Refund Schedule

• Full refund, less $100 non-refundable, up to receipt of request by June 9th.
• Fifty percent refund, up to receipt of request by July 9th.
• No refund after July 9th.
• We reserve the right to change or cancel the program or program conditions. If the program cancels for any reason, we will refund program registration fees in full.

Privacy

• Any payment information between us is confidential.

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Schmooze With Us

        Sheri Ann Strite  &  Michael E. Stuart MD
   Principal & Managing Partner      President & Medical Director

We will select a location for a "Sips & Schmooze" social following the seminar on Day 1. This will be a no host event. We will not be securing a venue, so this will be a mingle with the Universe of Portland as it shows up. But we will pick a nice spot to hang out as space allows for an hour or two following the seminar. Very possibly we will pick Mez on Broadway, an incredibly beautiful spot a few blocks away at the Portland Marriott City Center (not to be confused with the Portland Marriott Waterfront). We will announce the chosen location day-of the event. See pictures of the beautiful Mez as an example.

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About Portland, Oregon

And some fun things about Portland:
http://www.uniquely-portland-oregon.com/

Public Transportation including Airport to Downtown

Recommended Towncar (We love Mo!)

Ace Towncar
Mr. Mo Ramezani
503-516-2000
http://aaatowncars.com/

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Download Seminar PDF

Delfini Summer Seminar 2010 Brochure

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About us

Delfini is a public service entrepreneurship founded to help solve the little known societal problem of medical misinformation which frequently results from lack of awareness and skills in the conduct and reporting of research and in evaluating scientific information. We are dedicated to helping individuals and organizations learn and apply the concepts, methods, processes, skills and tools of evidence- and value-based clinical improvement to achieve improved medical decision-making, outcomes and value. More about us, including freely available tools and information, is at our website at www.delfini.org.

Contact Us: delfini(at)delfini.org

Embassy Suites Contact
Nichole Cooper, Senior Catering Manager
Embassy Suites Hotel | Portland - Downtown
319 SW Pine Street I Portland I Oregon I 97204
503-796-5926
Nichole.Cooper(at)Hilton.com
www.embassyportland.com

Delfini SERVICES
We offer a wide range of supportive services with the ultimate goal of increasing health care organizations’ and clinicians’ abilities to provide high quality, evidence-based care and to improve medical decision-making for organizations, leaders, teams, clinicians and patients.

Delfini About Our Work

• Who We Can Help
• Areas We Provide Help In
• Our Capabilities
• Services
• Success Stories
• Testimonials
• About Us
• Contact Us

Resources at —

• delfini.org Resources
• medicalleaders.org