Leighton Heusinger has been busy planning the upcoming MacPractice User Conference in Portland - really busy! He is a Traveling Corporate Trainer for MacPractice who plans the conference from the MacPractice Headquarters in Lincoln, Nebraska when he's not visiting a practice. He has played a leading role in the development and orchestration of five MacPractice Corporate Conferences. Before working for MacPractice he studied Nursing. 

When he’s not hosting a conference, he travels to MacPractice offices around the world. He particularly likes traveling to the coast as a “beach boy at heart.” He brings that energy to every training. “Just because you are learning doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun!” 

In this interview, we discussed what it has been like to plan the upcoming MacPractice User Conference in Portland this July


Challenges and Advances

Leighton says the hardest part to plan is the intense schedule, which must accommodate a wide variety of users, “We are always doing our best to come up with good content for both experienced users and new users. Its difficult to make time for every class while keeping the schedule to only two days.”  

That challenge hasn’t stopped the MacPractice Training Team from continuing to reach for innovation in the conference series. “I am very proud of the technological advances that we have taken with our conference,” he says. “In an effort to go green, we have gone completely paperless with the use of smartphone applications.” 

Although MacPractice is not as large as some of it’s competitors, the conference technology setup is similar to rival conferences setup by other technology giants, powered by Apple hardware. “We have created an exploratorium area where users can demo and test the MacPractice software.”


People and Opportunities

Each year, attendance to the MacPractice User Conference grows in number and practice specialties thanks to great referrals and reviews from past conference attendees. Many attendees are becoming MPUC regulars year after year. “It gives me the opportunity to make friendships with the office staff,” Leighton says. “It also helps me better understand their needs as my knowledge of their office becomes more extensive year after year.” 

As for those still considering whether or not to attend, Leighton says, “Do it! It never hurts to learn more about the resources that are available to you and your staff.” 

Leighton promises you won’t go away regretting a chance to meet the MacPractice family, “We always enjoy getting to know our clients and seeing our software from your point of view.”


Up Next

Just as the MacPractice software continues to innovate, so does the MPUC. Future plans included offering even more interactive ways to learn.

Leighton says he’d like to continue breaking new ground with the MPUC and see the conference become even more green, even more technologically advanced, and maybe even less expensive, in a perfect world. “If I could change one thing about the Portland conference, it would be the price. I wish that the conference could be free for all to attend as it is so helpful to meet other users and to collaborate on advancements in workflow and the MacPractice software.”