ACOI 2026: Connect With Intention

As ACOI 2026 draws closer, there is no doubt that the option of staying home and joining virtually is a convenient one. Maybe you've already envisioned it: propping yourself on a comfy couch with your favorite snack off to the side while wearing athletic wear or pajamas. Or perhaps you’d watch the sessions in your scrubs, in the doctors’ lounge, between patients. You might imagine, either way, feeling unburdened of the hassles of traveling to and from the airports. No Ubers, no flights, no car rentals, and no extra hotel fees. I can understand the desire.

So, with all of that in mind, why come to this year’s Annual Convention in person? Perhaps all of us have asked ourselves this question at one time or another.

I remember attending my first Annual Convention. It was in Tampa, Florida, my home city. There were hundreds of osteopathic internal medicine physicians gathering from across the country. I had never seen anything like it. Most of the people there were complete strangers to me, yet something about them felt familiar. I felt at ease and at home. I remember being embraced by colleagues from all walks of life. As they became new acquaintances over the course of the meeting, I also learned, grew, and began to understand more completely the special experience of being part of the osteopathic internal medicine community.

Looking back, I am certain that experience would not have happened anywhere else, in any other way.

I left reinvigorated and inspired, and thought to myself, “What a great way to start my life as an attending physician.”  Because of that, I decided I would become involved in an ACOI committee. Through that experience, I began to appreciate all the tremendous work completed throughout the year by our committee members and our ACOI staff so that our Annual Convention feels so special. Their zeal for ensuring that we have the opportunity to learn, have fun, and connect with one another was remarkable. I also appreciated their responsiveness to the needs of our profession and commitment to ensuring it grows.

When the time arrived for me to decide if I was going to attend the next Annual Convention, I registered early without any hesitation. I was going. That year’s event was also held in Palm Springs, California. I was both excited and nervous, because it would be my first time participating as faculty. Furthermore, it was the year I would become an ACOI Fellow. Like the previous year, I learned and grew; I made new friends, reconnected with old friends, and left inspired and invigorated. Although I was happy to become a Fellow and excited to contribute to our educational program that year, I was most happy about being surrounded by such great people.

The next year, however, I missed the Annual Convention—for the first and only time.  The option of watching it from the comfort of my home or the convenience of my office was not available then, as the complexities of taking time away from clinical practice were omnipresent. Since the previous year, I had started a business and become a father. So, before registering for the Annual Convention, I had to give myself a gut check.

Despite the excitement and overwhelm of starting a business and entering fatherhood, I felt my sense of the DO within was secure. With that conviction, I decided I would skip the Annual Convention and attend the year after.

But after not attending, something surprising happened. I felt a certain void.

It turned out that I greatly missed having side conversations, meeting new people, seeing old colleagues, experiencing in-person learning, and having the shared experiences unique to ACOI. I missed being surrounded by my osteopathic internal medicine family. Since then, I have never missed an Annual Convention.

Since 2020, virtual learning, meetings, and connections have become permanent fixtures in our daily lives. And these approaches can be great successes, making excellent content widely available. However, while virtual attendance is undeniably convenient and flexible, there is something special we risk losing—something we have thoughtfully built as a community over the last 85 years. This is the event where osteopathic internists can reconnect to the DO within and live out the professional calling of doing internal medicine the osteopathic way.

As osteopathic physicians, we have always believed in the power of using our hands, the power of listening to understand, and the power of connection as foundational elements of our unique brand of internal medicine. We are the physicians who deeply understand the power of “In-Person Healing.”

Our brand of internal medicine requires our presence—so we can place our hands on our patients, evaluate their structure and function, sit with them and their families, and understand the complexities of their lives, as we seek to use all of it to help them heal their bodies.

I believe our Annual Convention is no different. It requires our hands-on presence, and our ability to sit with each other so that we may continue to learn, grow, and make connections. Our Annual Convention reminds us of how we do osteopathic internal medicine. It keeps the essence of our osteopathic internal medicine profession alive.

So, what will you choose? I encourage you to join us in Palm Springs this October and take a step that will help you completely nurture the DO within. Attend ACOI 2026 in person, honor us with your presence, and be in the rooms where everything is happening. Help us make it that special event, where generations of osteopathic internists gather to connect, have fun, learn, and grow.

Your in-person presence may be just the thing required for another colleague to feel a sense of belonging, improve their career, and become inspired.

Register for ACOI 2026

Ready to join ACOI in Palm Springs this October? You can learn more about what to expect at this incredible event, and register now, at https://www.acoi.org/acoi2026.