Experts agree that the top benefit of conference attendance is networking value. Where else can you find so many industry contacts facing the same issues as your organization? Are there solutions you're not aware of? Although networking is undoubtedly the most important aspect of a conference, it is also the toughest for which to quantify any value.

When you propose IMSH, don't focus on how much you want to go; focus on what you will bring back to the organization as payback for the investment.

Be specific in your explanation. Some specific details you'll need to identify include:

▪ Session content. What sessions have particular relevance to your organization's work?
▪ Vendor contacts. Will the conference showcase vendors with tools you use or are evaluating for potential future use? Is this an opportunity during which you'll be able to compare competing tools?
▪ Multidisciplinary Education opportunities – no other conference offers true multidisciplinary education where faculty and attendees come from all medical areas.
▪ Hands-on workshops – At IMSH, you can attend small hands out workshops designed to give you tools and experience you can use immediately. 

Quantify the Benefits. Be specific about how you will network, what you can discover in the exhibit hall and which sessions are most suitable. Present your manager with the benefits.

It's all in the presentation!

Need more information? Check out the education sessions, exhibitor list and special events.

Letter to Supervisor

Below, you'll find a "justification letter" template — a letter to your supervisor explaining all of the benefits you'll get from attending The International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare, how they will make you a better employee, and help advance your organization. This general template will get you started while allowing you to customize it to you and your organization's particular needs.

Dear <supervisor>,

I would like to attend the 2015 International Meeting on Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH), January 10-14, 2015 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The conference will enable me to attend a number of education sessions that are directly applicable to my work and will allow me to network with a variety of simulations experts and colleagues from around the world. To focus on specific needs, I can select courses from the following tracks:
▪ Faculty Development
▪ Assessment
▪ Research
▪ Program Administration
▪ Interprofessional Education/Interprofessional Practice
▪ Debriefing
▪ Technical Operations
▪ Curriculum Design & Development

Secondary categories
▪ Hospital-based Specialty Content
▪ Patient Safety/Outcomes

In addition to courses, IMSH has two unique Showcases:

Serious Games & Virtual Environments Arcade & Showcase
The SG/VE Arcade and Showcase provides an environment where users of virtual and gamebased
technology can collaborate and network with students, clinicians, educators, and start-ups,
as well as small and large established companies.

Spectrum of Innovation Showcase - new for 2015
•Low Cost Innovation Showcase
• Innovations for Low Resource Environments Showcase
• High Tech Innovation Showcase
• Innovative Modification Showcase

The courses are also categorized by level including Expert Level. I am seeking sponsorship for the registration fee, travel expenses to the conference, and living expenses during the conference. A detailed cost breakdown is included below.

After reviewing the conference information, I have identified a number of courses, which will allow me to gain knowledge and understanding about industry best practices, innovations and how we can improve our processes. The faculty is made up of simulation experts. I will choose each presentation because it directly relates to an issue we currently face. Getting the information in a seminar format will greatly reduce the research time and costs that would normally incur in researching the topics. Incidentally, I have only listed some of the sessions that I will attend. Including them all would make this memo much too long.

<course names>

The full price conference fee is $1,100, but can be reduced to $595 by joining SSH ($175) and by registering before the early bird deadline. SSH offers special pricing of $405 to students and residents which includes SSH student/resident membership ($80 value).

Here is the breakdown of conference costs:
Roundtrip Airfare: <$xxxx>
Transportation: <$xxxx>
Hotel: <$xxxx>
Meals: <$xxxx>
Conference Fee: <$xxxx>

The total costs associated with attending this conference are: <$xxxx>.

The opportunity for me to develop better contacts and gain knowledge in specific areas of makes my attendance at IMSH 2015 is a wise investment, which will yield rich dividends for .

Sincerely,
<your name>