Welcome to this supplement from our 2021 Annual Scientific Meeting (ASM), aptly named ‘Disrupted Medical Education’.

As a longstanding attendee of the Association for the Study of Medical Education (ASME) ASM, I must admit to a feeling of trepidation ahead of this year's online ASM. It was a first, especially in terms of scale and digital delivery. Would the programme stimulate engagement? Will social distancing measures inhibit a sense of community? What if 2 days isn't enough time? What if it's not enough? From my first ASME conference as a PhD student, it was the sense of community at the ASM that I valued the most. The 2021 ASM did not disappoint. The networking power of social media was harnessed through the use of the hashtag #ASME2021 and not forgetting #petsofASME. Creatures of all shapes and sizes joined colleagues—as a former anatomist, this comparative anatomy addition to the conference was most welcome. When we introduced the #petsofASME hashtag, it was not as a gimmick but rather as an informal way to start to foster interactions in advance of the conference and as a way to bring a little joy during ongoing lockdowns. Don't forget; there have been studies within education that detailed the therapeutic benefits of dogs for university student anxiety and mood! Social media served as the virtual equivalent to the poster boards and buffet—a place to network and exchange ideas.

We were fortunate to welcome two illustrators to our conference this year. Their artistic lens enabled us to produce a memento, capturing multiple elements of the conference that were running simultaneously. The illustrations offer us a richer understanding of the themes, trends and discussions at the ASM. Taking a moment to reflect on the content of the Day 1 (Figure 1) and Day 2 (Figure 2) images had a profound and unexpected impact. The same community that we had worried about missing was jumping from the page, loud and clear. For me, the take-home message from these summaries was that we had faced adversity and disruption. Still, through the power of the medical education community, we have overcome this to emerge stronger and empowered.

Day 1

Day 2

American writer Margret J. Wheatley said ‘there is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.’ The pertinence of this quote to the ASM is remarkable—we witnessed novel teaching emerge from the most challenging circumstances, we saw students empowered and taking ownership for their learning, and most importantly, we saw education in its most accessible formats yet.

The inclusive curricula and assessments showcased were inspirational, and moves towards a social justice approach to medical education were front and centre—noting the consideration given to diverse populations at the point of design. Never before have I witnessed such effort in developing teaching modalities and assessments that harness the principles of inclusivity—striving for fairness in tools and procedures and advocating for student voices.

Speaking of accessibility and inclusivity, the transition to an online conference is not as easy as one might imagine. Producing such a memorable ASME conference takes a Herculean effort, and I am incredibly grateful to the ASME team, steering group, authors and attendees (including pets) for not letting the pandemic get in the way of fostering ASME's renowned community spirit.

Thanks to the community's ingenuity, our online content remains accessible for attendees. From the workshops, member presentations and plenaries, it is evident that medical education has been anything but disrupted.