This inaugural medical meeting brought community oncologists together for a fresh take on education—complete with lively debates, mentorship, and a touch of Nashville soul.
This inaugural medical meeting brought community oncologists together for a fresh take on education—complete with lively debates, mentorship, and a touch of Nashville soul.
With only two major hematology meetings in the U.S. each year, the Nashville Hematology Conference (NHC)—launched by IDEOlogy Health and produced by Wilson Dow—filled a critical gap for community oncologists and hematologists seeking timely, relevant education. Held in February at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, the inaugural 120-attendee program distilled the flood of new data into what truly matters in day-to-day practice. The main focus: What do I need to know for Monday morning?
“We saw a need to take a new approach to medical education,” said Cameron Lush, president of IDEOlogy Health. “Having a pharmaceutical industry background, I’ve been to hundreds of these meetings and have seen that they’re full of valuable data, but they’re often very formulaic—a podium with speakers in a windowless ballroom with bad coffee in the hallway. We asked ourselves: How can we take what’s required and turn it into an enriched learning environment that is both memorable and engaging?”
That question shaped an event designed specifically for the realities of community care—one that reimagined academia as an experience to look forward to.
Rather than choosing a conventional hotel ballroom, the team hosted NHC in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum—an unconventional setting that blended clinical learning with Nashville’s cultural flair. “We wanted a destination people were genuinely excited to attend, and somewhere that would immediately set a different tone from an expected CME event,” said Jeremy Plummer, creative director at Wilson Dow. “Nashville offered that, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum gave us the perfect backdrop to explore the intersection of art and science. Just as music tells a story, medicine is a form of storytelling, too.”
Interactive formats were a cornerstone of the experience. Morning roundtables, for example, fostered mentorship and community, offering attendees intimate access to leading experts in a discussion-based format. “The morning roundtables brought together sub-specialty healthcare providers that don’t usually have the chance to interact,” said Dr. Joanna Rhodes, an event co-chair. “Between community oncologists, hematologists, and other specialists, the intentional roundtables created space for shared learning and made the content more accessible across specializations and fields.”
The event’s debate club-style breakout sessions added a lively twist. “Across IDEOlogy Health’s series of conferences, the debates have become the hallmark of the meeting,” explained Dr. Jesús Berdeja, another event co-chair. “They’re not just presentations—they’re conversations. Audience members play a crucial role in determining the outcome, and there’s no winner unless people participate in voting. That energy keeps everyone on their toes and makes learning feel alive.”
While the content was rigorously scientific, the atmosphere was anything but sterile. Former NFL player and cancer survivor Merril Hoge delivered an inspiring keynote that encouraged attendees to “find a way,” sharing his story of perseverance and mindset. Live music interludes from Musicians On Call, a nonprofit that brings music to patients and caregivers, gave the meeting its unmistakably Nashville soul.
“Studying the ‘hard science’ can be very black and white, but practicing medicine is anything but,” said Lush. “We wanted to remind people that behind every chart and study is a person—a patient, a family, a story. Bringing in voices like Merril Hoge and Musicians On Call reconnected the science to the soul of why these physicians do what they do.”
Though this was NHC’s inaugural year, IDEOlogy Health applied lessons learned from its broader conference portfolio to refine engagement and design. The agenda took an integrated approach, spanning multiple hematologic malignancies within each session block instead of siloing by disease state, encouraging cross-disciplinary dialogue and deeper connections between topics.
An academic poster competition for emerging oncologists and fellows unfolded inside the museum’s rotunda, where new research stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the legends of country music—a symbolic, inspiring juxtaposition. Networking breaks throughout the museum encouraged continued conversation and collaboration long after each session ended.
Post-event surveys highlighted what organizers hoped for: a learner-centric, community-driven meeting that felt fresh, relevant, and human. “We wanted to build something physicians look forward to for years to come, not just another conference on their schedule,” Lush said.
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