The National Association of Specialty Pharmacy (NASP) held their annual conference at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel in Nashville, TN this year. This post is about my experience at this event, and in particular, the feeling of being small and the benefit that has. The conference ran from Sunday October 6 to Wednesday October 9, 2024. This is one of the two biggest specialty pharmacy conferences held annually in the US, the other one being the Asembia conference.
The Gaylord
The Gaylord is an amazing venue. It is apparently the single largest non-casino hotel in the country, boasting over 2800 guest rooms, lush tropical decor, waterfalls, a river with boat tours, restaurants and numerous gift shops. Not to mention the enormous conference room spaces they provide. The hotel has their own app with a built in GPS navigation to help you find where you need to go. I definitely used that the first day!
As for the conference itself, there were hundreds of specialty pharmacy colleagues from around the country, and dozens and dozens of vendors who help support the various operational needs of my industry. I was glad for the opportunity to connect with friends who work in similar roles throughout the U.S. The conference topics were also very relevant and helpful. The keynote speakers were talented and entertaining. Much thanks to some of the largest sponsors of this event, which included BeiGene, Inovalon, Alnylam Pharmaceuticals, Cencora, Keycentrix, Omnicell and others.
Feeling Small
Maybe the most significant takeaway for myself was the sensation of feeling very small, almost miniscule. The Gaylord itself contributed to this sensation. I have never been inside a hotel that large. But this sensation of smallness wasn’t merely due to the number of rooms around me. It was more than that. Even the overall structure and design that made you feel like you could almost get lost for days wandering among the well-constructed pathways, stairways, and high ceilings. The construction, planning and design that must have gone into this facility fascinated me. The creative architecture and careful engineering allow for an indoor ecosystem that is home for over 50,000 tropical plants and a 1/4 mile long river offering flatboat rides to guests.
But it wasn’t just the building that contributed to this “Alice in Wonderland” contracting effect of this event. Crowds make me feel small too. There were people everywhere. The facility has over 700,000 square feet of conference room space. Sitting there during a presentation surrounded by more than a thousand other people, or walking among the vendor tables during breaks and lunch, I became aware of the fact that the relatively large and wonderful organization I work for is just one small blip on the healthcare map, and I’m just a small speck on that blip.
Feeling Small is Good
I think it is a good thing to feel small from time to time. It’s good to look at the stars as the Psalmist did and think “When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers…what is man, that you are mindful of him? (Psalm 8:3-4).” While it is nice to be where “everybody knows your name” it can also be dangerous to your ego, unconsciously inflating your sense of importance, and leading to a proud and arrogant approach to life which isn’t healthy for ourselves or others. As such, it’s nice to be at a conference where the vast majority of wonderful people have no idea who I am, or I them.
In a world that seems to always be saying “bigger is better”, I would argue that there is an important place in our soul where what we really need is to be smaller. There is danger in thinking too highly of ourselves. Pride comes before destruction. And we have all met those leaders who seem determined to let you know just how big they are. NASP and the Gaylord gave me a fresh sense of my own smallness, and for this I’m grateful.
Next week I go back to my job with a fresh appreciation for the little corner of healthcare that I serve within. I go back feeling energized, grateful, better informed, and, maybe most important of all…small.
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