Physicians Are Attending Conferences in High Numbers — But Patterns Vary by Country and Specialty
Conferences are still a big part of how physicians stay current and connect with colleagues in their field, whether that’s in a packed session hall or online.
Our independent research shows attendance is high across the U.S. and Canada. But how often physicians go, and how they take part, varies by country and physician group.
Research and design by MD Analytics. Explore our approach to research reporting.
What does this mean for your next conference plan?
Attendance was high in all four groups surveyed. In the past year, 84% of U.S. primary care physicians and 96% of U.S. specialists had attended at least one conference. In Canada, the figures were 94% for general practitioners and 93% for specialists.
How often they went varied more. U.S. specialists reported attending an average of 20 conferences, compared with 9 among U.S. primary care physicians. Canadian GPs and specialists each averaged 10.
And attendance only tells part of the story. In earlier research, we also looked at which medical conferences physicians consider most valuable.
Format varied too. For North American conferences, 84% of U.S. specialists reported in-person participation, compared with 46% of U.S. primary care physicians. In Canada, the figures were 73% for GPs and 69% for specialists. International conference formats are shown in the findings below.
And when it comes to session popularity, we’ve also explored how physicians engage with conferences and CME events, including the types of sessions they value.
For teams planning conference activity, these results give a more specific picture of attendance by physician group and country.
See the full study. Explore what it means for yours.
See the full conference attendance study, including differences by physician group and country, in a presentation with our team.
Complimentary presentations are available to eligible organizations.
The findings in detail
The table compares past-year attendance, average conference counts, and reported in-person and virtual participation across the four physician groups.
| Measure | U.S. primary care physicians (n=50) | U.S. specialists (n=100) | Canadian general practitioners (n=40) | Canadian specialists (n=99) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Attended one or more conferences in the past year | 84% | 96% | 94% | 93% |
| Mean number of conferences attended | 9 | 20 | 10 | 10 |
| Mean number of North American conferences attended | 8 | 15 | 9 | 8 |
| Mean number of international conferences attended | 1 | 5 | 1 | 2 |
| North American conferences: in-person participation | 46% | 84% | 73% | 69% |
| North American conferences: virtual participation | 54% | 16% | 27% | 31% |
| International conferences: in-person participation | 100% | 71% | 0% | 74% |
| International conferences: virtual participation | 0% | 29% | 100% | 26% |
Source: MD Analytics survey of 150 U.S. and 139 Canadian physicians, recruited in March 2026. Means and percentages are reproduced from the infographic.
About the research
MD Analytics independently sponsored and conducted this research. The March 2026 survey included 150 U.S. physicians and 139 Canadian physicians.
The U.S. sample included 50 primary care physicians and 100 specialists. The Canadian sample included 40 general practitioners and 99 specialists.