About Hot Spots 2.0

What:  Hot Spots 2.0

When: June 6 – 7, 2015
Where:  West Vancouver, British Columbia   
Why: See below

West Vancouver Sea Wall

We’ve held Hot Spots in Dermatology since 1987.  Most of the meetings have been in Hawaii, but we’ve also convened in Victoria, BC, Penang, Malaysia, Havana, Cuba and with the AAD conferences in San Francisco and New Orleans.

The World Congress of Dermatology will be held in Vancouver from June 8 – 13, 2015, and we thought it would be a convenient time to gather some colleagues who like the Hot Spots philosophy in West Vancouver for a day (or two) devoted to the humanities and dermatology.  The World Congress will be your typical Mega-Conference with thousands of registrants aimlessly milling around a cavernous convention centre.  Hot Spots 2.0 will be a small meeting of 15 – 20 cognoscenti devoted to topics related to humane medicine and the medical humanities.

Each person will pay for her/his own food and beverage costs and a share of the room rental.  It will be very reasonable.  All registrants will pay the same amount.  If there are students or trainees attending, we will offer scholarships.

A Quest for Community

Hot Spots 2.0: A Quest for Community 
Dermatology Without the Societies

As physicians we can understand Wordsworth when he wrote

          The world is too much with us; late and soon,

          Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers:

          Little we see in Nature that is ours;

          We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!

That is why it is important for us to spend some time as a community to honor that part of our lives and work that has little to do with the biologics, with cosmetics and rejuvenation, with Botox and cryo.

The anthropologist T.J. Luhrman had a prescient Op-Ed piece in the December 25, 2014 NY Times entitled “Religion Without God.”  In it she writes:
How do we understand this impulse to hold a “church” service despite a hesitant

or even nonexistent faith? Part of the answer is surely the quest for community.

That’s what Mr. Jones told The Associated Press: “Singing awesome songs, hearing

interesting talks, thinking about improving yourself and helping other people — and

doing that in a community with wonderful relationships. Which part of that is not to

like?”

It struck me that these lines capture the reasons why we are holding Hot Spots 2.0.  It is an opportunity for those of us who wish to gather in a special place to can share our friendship and our dedication to the great Oslerian mandate:

The practice of medicine is an art, not a trade; a calling, not a business;

a calling in which your heart will be exercised equally with your head.

Often the best part of your work will have nothing to do with potions and powders, but with the exercise of an influence of the strong upon the weak,

of the righteous upon the wicked, of the wise upon the foolish.

Please join us when we gather in West Vancouver for a meeting free from the trappings of the Medical-Industrial-Academic complex.

Program Overview

Saturday, June 6, 2015

         Sea to Sky Gondola – Squamish, B.C.

         7:00 p.m. Dinner:  Beachhouse Restaurant

Sunday, June 7, 2015

         West Vancouver Library Conference Room

         10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Didactic Session

         Speakers in Alpha Order 

         Yoon Cohen

         David Elpern
         Paul Esaki

         Henry Foong

         Douglas Johnson

         Patrick Kenny

         Wei-Li Lee

         Boluwaji Akhigbe Ogunyemi

         George Reizner
         Omid Zargari

        

Sea to Sky Gondola

Sea to Sky Gondola
Saturday, June 6, 2015

Instead of spending the day in a conference room, we are planning a trip to the Sea to Sky Gondola located in Squamish, a half hour drive from West Vancouver.  The Gondola opened in May of 2014 and gives access to a amazing mountain area for sightseeing and short hikes.

Sea to Sky Gondola You Tube.

Hot Spots 2.0 Dinner

Hot Spots 2.0 Banquet

June 6, 2015 7:00 p.m.
The Beachhouse Restaurant

We will hold our informal dinner at the Beachhouse restaurant, located at the foot of West Vancouver's Dundarave Pier.  It is one of the North Shore's most celebrated landmarks, home of acclaimed West Coast cuisine. The Beachhouse Restaurant & Lounge will provide a memorable setting for meal.

Please Join us!