Our World Muscle Society (WMS) community is a supportive and welcoming one. We celebrate science and discovery, share knowledge and support one another in pursuit of scientific advances.
The WMS considers early career researchers and clinicians as individuals who are within 10 years of their last degree, or who have been in the neuromuscular field for less than 10 years, or who self-identify as an early-career researcher or clinician.
The field of neuromuscular disorders is broad, encompassing a range of conditions that impair the functioning of the muscles, either directly, being pathologies of the voluntary muscle, or indirectly, being pathologies of the peripheral nervous system or neuromuscular junctions.
For early career researchers and clinicians, knowing how to access the right support and meet the people who have the potential to influence your career can seem overwhelming.
At the WMS, as part of our commitment to advancing the science around neuromuscular disorders, we are committed to supporting early career researchers & clinicians.
At this year's Congress, we have tried to cater for early career researchers and clinicians. The Congress provides an ideal opportunity to meet other people working in the field, learn from them, discover new breakthroughs and share your own experiences.
Our Pre-Congress Teaching Course, where neuromuscular specialists provide an in-depth overview of the field of neuromuscular disorders including modern approaches to patient evaluation and developments in myology runs immediately before the main congress. We encourage all physicians, researchers, therapists, and neuropathologists interested in learning more about neuromuscular disorders from leaders in the field to attend.
To make WMS2023 more accessible, this year we have:
All these initiatives are designed to reduce the financial burden of attending the Congress in person. Of course, we also have our full programme available remotely via our virtual platform for those unable to travel, but we can’t quite replicate the value of being in the room and making those human connections.
In addition, we have created new sessions for 2023 to help early career researchers and clincians make the most of their time at the Congress:
This will be held on Wednesday 4th October 2023, 13:45-14:15.
One of our dedicated Myology Café sessions will be our New Members' Event. If you're new to the WMS - or want to meet some of our new members - come along to the Myology Cafe for this session. We'll have previous year prize-winners and some of the most experienced clinicians and researchers on hand to welcome you, share how to make the most of your membership and listen to what you want from the WMS.
This will be held on Thursday 5th October 2023, 13:45-14:45 in Ballroom C1
Whether you're a new member, a student, an early career researcher or clinician, someone who's experienced in the field of neuromuscular disorders and wants to share the knowledge you have gained with those who are just starting out, or you are just looking for wisdom and some time out to think about careers and strategies, we invite you to join our Career Development Workshop.
This will be a facilitated Q&A panel discussion around all things career-related: mentoring, barriers faced, opportunites, applying for positions and grants, balancing work and life, collaborations, networking and more.
Our experienced panel will be on hand to answer questions and guide discussions to help you get the most out of the session.
This will be held on Friday 6th October 2023, 07:30-08:30.
Those who have attended the Pre-Congress Teaching Course will have found this part of the course particularly interesting. This year we are introducing an additional session in the Congress Programme with the aim of using our combined, global knowledge in our field to solve difficult, unusual or as yet unsolved cases.
WMS members may already be aware of our bi-monthly virtual networking events. For WMS 2023, we’re bringing the virtual into the real world.
Thoughout the Congress, we will have a series of Café sessions dedicated to different disucssion topics. You'll have the opportunity to meet some of our committees and influence what they focus on over the coming months. You'll get to meet colleages from around the world to discuss the latest advances in the field of neuromuscular disorders. And you'll get to sit in a comfortable and modern coffee bar and enjoy your favourite barista-made beverage.
The WMS is here for you. We want to do all we can to support your professional advancement as you work to advance the science and care of patients with neuromuscular disorders.
To support early career researchers and clinicians as you raise your professional profile, we have added two headshot sessions to the programme:
Tuesday 3rd Ocober, 15:30-16:15
Wednesday 4th October, 13:15-14:15
These sessions will take place in the media room - Meeting Room 2. Come along to either of these sessions (no need to pre-book) for a professional profile photo that you'll be able to use for presentations, programmes, profiles and more.
