All Branch Topic (ABT) Education Budget

[Perrotfish]

I'm just curious, now that the military doesn't pay for anything any more, what are you guys budgeting for education? What are you guys spending on Books/conference/Qbanks/CME lectures, and what do you buy when its your own money on the line? What is a reasonable plan for self-funded continuing education?

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[pgg]

I pay for
- my specialty's society membership, which includes their journal
- the annual CME required to maintain my board certification
- not much else

It's enough cat 1 CMEs to keep the licenses going, and stay on track for my board cert renewal.

 

[colbgw02]

Yet another wonderful bonus of military medicine is that my MTF, which no longer pays for CME, requires greater than twice the annual number of level I credits than needed to maintain by board certification (25 vs. 60, to be exact). Even the most strenuous of my medical licenses requires no more than 30.

To answer the question, I also maintain membership in my specialty's major groups (there are 3). That provides access to our two biggest journals as well as plenty of online CME. In recent years, I've decided to attend one conference a year, but that's coming out of pocket, of course. Last year, at least they approved PTDY. I don't know what they'll do for this year yet, but I'll just use leave if necessary as I'm determined to go.

 

[Homunculus]

pTDY is the only viable option left and claiming it as a business expense. a colleague of mine here does everything through his own sole proprietor LLC to make things easier to keep track of-- conferences, license, CME, etc.

i don't think pTDY will be eliminated. it's a local command approval, and it costs nothing (except for time away for the doc). as long as you aren't on a 14 day junket to Tahiti you should be ok. as restless as the natives are now, this would push things into "ludicrous." the other option which i see coming are sponsored conferences-- which if pharma is smart they will pick up on this and (as long as the proffer letters are in and the i's are dotted and t's are crossed) create a new market for themselves-- orphaned military docs.

--your friendly neighborhood spaceballs loving caveman

 

[HighPriest]

I would be very, very surprised if the Army allowed sponsored conferenecs. Case and point:

"We" used to have sponsored conferences at all of our training MEDCENs (TAMC, SAMC, NCC, MAMC). They had done this for decades. They were OTSG funded and varied from decent to really good depending upon the topic and the year. The TAMC conference was co-sponsored by the UCalifornia system, and therefore was larger and offered more in terms of presenters, etc. So our consultant had the reasonable idea of consolidating the funds from each MEDCEN to have one annual, Army-wide conference. It would be associated with UC just like the original TAMC conference, but because we consolidated our funds we would be able to foot a more fair portion of the expenses and end up with a better conference overall. One of the OTSG consultants MG So-and-So thought it was a great idea as well, and the trigger was pulled to cease individual conferences in 2011 and start the single conference in 2012. In the interval year, the Army decided that it was unethical for us to share the expenses with the UC system (again, something that had been done for years) because it was possibly some sort of bribe (for us to.....I dunno.....buy....stuff....from UC....?) Therefore we would be unable to have a combined conference. Our consultant, ever the optimist, asked if we could just sponser an Army-only annual conference with the combined funds from the 4 programs, and we were told that those funds were no longer available. That was back when we were still allowed CME and travel money. Now we have no conference at all. In fact, the final solution was to have anyone in the Army who could afford to pay their own way to our Academy's National Conference meet one night in the back room of a cheap pub as an alternative to a funded conference.

And no, I am not joking.

HOOAH!

 

[colbgw02]

pTDY is the only viable option left and claiming it as a business expense. a colleague of mine here does everything through his own sole proprietor LLC to make things easier to keep track of-- conferences, license, CME, etc.

i don't think pTDY will be eliminated. it's a local command approval, and it costs nothing (except for time away for the doc). as long as you aren't on a 14 day junket to Tahiti you should be ok. as restless as the natives are now, this would push things into "ludicrous." the other option which i see coming are sponsored conferences-- which if pharma is smart they will pick up on this and (as long as the proffer letters are in and the i's are dotted and t's are crossed) create a new market for themselves-- orphaned military docs.

--your friendly neighborhood spaceballs loving caveman

IIRC, the Navy has already denied pTDY for the very purpose you cite. To wit, that you ought to be generating RVUs on the government's dime, while license and certification maintenance required for those RVUs is your own problem. They may have backed off of that stance, but it's been done. Also, I'm already in a command that grants training holidays based on performance metrics, so they clearly have production on their radar. If the hospital were to fall below expected RVU production, then it wouldn't surprise me. I don't expect it, but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[Chonal Atresia]

FYI, some states wave the requirement for CME needed for a medical license IF you participate in your specialty's maintenance of certification (MOC) AND if you are not grandfathered in. I know for a fact this is the case in North Carolina. Whether your hospital's credentialing department will accept this fact is a different matter. I was told I still had to accrue CME DESPITE my state medical board's policy. Lucky that I am ETSing and resigning my privileges before they enforce it. T-46 days!

 

[Monty Python]

Yet another wonderful bonus of military medicine is that my MTF, which no longer pays for CME, requires greater than twice the annual number of level I credits than needed to maintain by board certification (25 vs. 60, to be exact). Even the most strenuous of my medical licenses requires no more than 30.

To answer the question, I also maintain membership in my specialty's major groups (there are 3). That provides access to our two biggest journals as well as plenty of online CME. In recent years, I've decided to attend one conference a year, but that's coming out of pocket, of course. Last year, at least they approved PTDY. I don't know what they'll do for this year yet, but I'll just use leave if necessary as I'm determined to go.

What branch are you? Ive never heard of this (MTF-specific) requirement. What a nightmare for providers if they go TDY to a different MTF to help out short-term. How do they get privileges if their home MTF (where they meet CEU requirements for privileges) only requires ¥ number of CEUs for privileges , and the provider only has that ¥ number of CEUs, but their TDY location requires 2¥ CEUSs for privileges?

 

[colbgw02]

Army. I have no idea about the back-filling as I've never seen it occur at my current MTF.

 

[deuist]

I do all of my CME's via free, online learning modules such as eMedicine. I read journals for new information and occasionally can get CME from some of the articles.

 

[Gastrapathy]

I heard that NMCSD was declining no-cost TAD and it seemed command-specific. I assume the leadership has changed since then and I wonder if it's still the case.

 

[met19]

no matter whether it is cost or no-cost NMCSD under the current command (and prior) is requiring a form attesting that it is necessary to actually travel to the conference and you can't get it via VTC. Absurd if its no-cost and your partner's have already cleared your schedule. The 2 times I've asked for no-cost its been approved, but another example of wasted money (e.g. more forms, more work for GS's, more BS paperwork means less patient care)

 

[pgg]

IIRC, the Navy has already denied pTDY for the very purpose you cite. To wit, that you ought to be generating RVUs on the government's dime, while license and certification maintenance required for those RVUs is your own problem. They may have backed off of that stance, but it's been done. Also, I'm already in a command that grants training holidays based on performance metrics, so they clearly have production on their radar. If the hospital were to fall below expected RVU production, then it wouldn't surprise me. I don't expect it, but it wouldn't surprise me.

During the government shutdown last October, permissive (no-cost) TAD was banned Navy-wide (not just medical corps ... ALL permissive TAD), unless the CO could and would attest that it was "mission essential". Previously approved TAD for October conferences was cancelled, and people had to take leave at the last moment to go. I was fortunate that my specialty's annual conference was within the liberty radius of my hospital ...

Now that the government shutdown is over, permissive TAD for conferences is not subject to that same "mission essential" requirement.

 

[met19]

During the government shutdown last October, permissive (no-cost) TAD was banned Navy-wide (not just medical corps ... ALL permissive TAD), unless the CO could and would attest that it was "mission essential". Previously approved TAD for October conferences was cancelled, and people had to take leave at the last moment to go. I was fortunate that my specialty's annual conference was within the liberty radius of my hospital ...

Now that the government shutdown is over, permissive TAD for conferences is not subject to that same "mission essential" requirement.

Actually NMCSD is still requiring a mission essential form for all tad

 

[pgg]

Well that sucks. I don't think we're doing it any more. Or maybe the threshold for what's "essential" is lower.

 

[bricktamland]

I just came back from "no-cost" TAD to a medical conference. Perhaps I should feel fortunate I was even permitted to go. Then again, virtually all of my civilian colleagues and even my government colleagues (such as at the VA), get at least 1 paid CME conference per year. They would still have $2,500 in their pockets right now. At least it's a tax right-off.

 

[HighPriest]

As much as it irritates me, I suppose that I should mention a plus (or, perhaps I'll feel better stating a return to rationality). At my last DCS meeting, our command told us that we'll once again be allowed to attend conferences on the Army's dime. There is more paperwork involved, but money is available again.

 

[colbgw02]

As much as it irritates me, I suppose that I should mention a plus (or, perhaps I'll feel better stating a return to rationality). At my last DCS meeting, our command told us that we'll once again be allowed to attend conferences on the Army's dime. There is more paperwork involved, but money is available again.

Did you hear a timeline? I have a conference I'm going to in early September, and as of yesterday I'm still being denied funding. Strangely enough, this was a conference I wanted to attend last year but couldn't because of family reasons. I had already submitted the paperwork for funding, which they approved right in the middle of the sequester!! My buddy was more than happy to jump on that. Now that I'm able to go and the budget crisis is at least temporarily over, I have no doubt I won't see a dime.

 

[HighPriest]

I was told this is starting now. So if you submitted earlier this year, you may have to resubmit. And they're asking for 90 days to approve.