The winter meeting returned to Palisades Resort near Lake Tahoe, there were a few sunny days, no resort-closures and the scientific content of the meeting was fantastic. We wanted to recap some of our favorite wellness programming highlights of winter SGO.
For both of us, Winter SGO 2024 served as milestone for each of us physicians and for our families.
Taylor Turner, MD
Taylor: Winter 2024 was the first time I brought my 9-year-old son, Parks! He’s old enough to survive the meeting hours alone and can keep up with Bob Neff and me on the mountain. My NorCal-Dad spent a day playing with his grandson during meetings, and other days he wandered the hotel, scoring some speculum-branded swag. Parks and I flew to Reno before the conference and skied 3 days at Mammoth, stacking 6 days of skiing. The era of multi-resort passes is upon us, and now he can come along. Pro tip: buy your Epic or IKON pass early, you’ll easily break skiing the winter meeting!
Nicole Rubin, MD
Nikki: I attended Winter SGO for the very first time as a 3rd year resident in 2019. It was my first large academic conference and my very first poster. I made a perilous 6-hour drive from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe through a blizzard to make it over the mountains before the highways closed so that I could hang my poster by the “deadline.” I learned the newest data about PARP inhibitors (good!) and minimally invasive radical hysterectomy (bad!). Between sessions, I nervously stood at my poster and hoped that people would stop to talk with me about my research. I knew no more than 3 or 4 people but saw a community of some of the fiercest and brightest physicians.
I returned to Winter SGO 2024 as a first year Gyn-Oncology attending, a version of me that I had only dreamed of in 2019. This time my husband and I flew out early to visit our friends from fellowship, and made the very easy and precipitation free 2-hour drive from Sacramento to Lake Tahoe. I learned about PARP inhibitors (maybe not as universally good as we once thought) and minimally invasive radical hysterectomy (maybe not actually bad for the right patients). Between sessions, I walked the exhibit hall and looked at all the carefully crafted posters that contain the aspirations of our trainees. I knew so many people. I had friends to save me a seat at a “good table” and to share excited glances with as we heard the promising results of the latest trials.
Taylor: A surgeon friend from my hometown takes a few days off to come to the meeting and skis with more Gyn Oncs than he ever dreamed of, now 3 years running. SGO meetings are always great for connecting with peers, and if you find someone who loves to ski and will tolerate lots of doctor talk on the lift, let them know they’re welcome.
Nicole Rubin, MD, Snowshoeing
Nikki: My husband I went to dinner with friends, sledding with a close mentor and her kids, and snowshoeing with my new partner and her husband. As the conference ended, I realized I am part of that community I so admired as a resident, and those fierce and bright physicians are now my mentors, colleagues, and friends.
What stands out for us both is the community we have built through the winter meeting. Friends and family have a place here, too, and friendships can grow through learning and skiing and renewing our connections to the SGO community.
Taylor Turner, MD, is a Gynecologic Oncologist at St. Luke’s Cancer Institute in Boise, ID.
Nicole Rubin, MD, is a Gynecologic Oncologist at Rochester Regional Health in Rochester, NY.