WSCN attends ACOFP Convention 2026!

ACOFP Convention 2026 is the annual convention of the American College of Family Practitioners – whose constituents are trained as Doctors of Osteopathic medicine. The delegates ranged from first-year students to seasoned clinicians, researchers and teachers. The convention brings people together to network, learn, practice manual techniques, gain continuous medical education (CME) points, meet industry partners, and of course have a lot of fun doing so! This year we convened in Orlando, FL and people came from across the country to attend.

Why did we attend?

WSCN attended the convention in order to connect with the DO community. At our booth we were able to hear first-hand what practitioners are facing in their work. We shared our patient resources and education sheets, and engaged in important conversations about sleep and circadian wellbeing in healthcare practice. We supported a special half-day sleep symposium – at which our board chair Dr Anne Marie Morse presented with expert colleagues across a range of topics including narcolepsy, sleep apnea and cognitive therapies for insomnia.

Important Insights

• DOs care really about sleep and circadian health!
• DOs want more tools to help patients sleep better
• Patients wait too long for sleep studies and specialist care
• CPAP is costly and often out of reach
• Sleep/circadian education needs stronger integration into medical training
• Healthcare work is high-stress and time-poor—making sleep hygiene hard for students and clinicians

Key Takeaways

We learned that the WSCN CPAP Assistance program is more important than ever – helping patients access their own machines for only $200. We left feeling invigorated that our programs can materially change people’s lives!

We learned that many DOs are managing sleep & circadian health problems directly with their patients due to long wait times to see specialists – and they want more resources and materials to support this care.

There are many social determinants that impact sleep in the US. This creates significant challenges for clinicians who are trying to make a difference to people’s health. We need systematic change from government policies and research priorities all the way down to people’s individual thoughts and beliefs about sleep health and lifestyle.

More education is needed for health practitioners, patients, educators and researchers to understand the importance of sleep & circadian science in ALL healthcare settings.