Obtaining FUNDED TAD orders for NAVY CME?

[ishii123]

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Can one of the experienced NAVY doctors who has been assigned with Marines help me? I’m having trouble obtaining FUNDED TAD orders for a Continuing Medical Education (CME) Conference.

According to BUMED Instruction 4651.3A, Navy physicians are entitled to one funded TAD CME Conference per fiscal year paid by their Command. I put in my TAD request in April to my Marine S1 shop (Admin) and gave them a copy of this BUMED instruction. But after 4 weeks, they are still having trouble obtaining funding. I’m getting the total runaround and don’t know where to go. I think part of the problem is that they are not used to handing Navy personnel. So it’s a bit understandable that they are confused. But regardless, it’s their job to fix it. PN's and DK's from a local Navy command tried to help them, but my Marine S1 shop is still cannot get it done. This has been a frustrating process and now their lies the risk of my TAD orders going NON-funded. The S1 officer is aware, but he's a lazy turd. If I don't get an answer soon, I may have to bring it to the XO's attention (though I would hate to do this).

Can one of the experienced Navy doctors who has been assigned with Marines help me? Any Advice?

 

[Monty Python]

Can one of the experienced NAVY doctors who has been assigned with Marines help me? I’m having trouble obtaining FUNDED TAD orders for a Continuing Medical Education (CME) Conference.

According to BUMED Instruction 4651.3A, Navy physicians are entitled to one funded TAD CME Conference per fiscal year paid by their Command. I put in my TAD request in April to my Marine S1 shop (Admin) and gave them a copy of this BUMED instruction. But after 4 weeks, they are still having trouble obtaining funding........ Any Advice?

I'm a drilling reservist CRNA with 16 years combined active duty and reserve time. I've seen your situation happen multiple times, including to myself.

Yes, the instruction says you're entitled blah blah blah. Unwritten, but always implied, is the addendum "if funding is available."

You're always welcome to put in for orders, but if the money's not there when you need it, the money's not there. In the reserves, my gaining command would fund a CME trip, and the command training officer has had her CME budget diverted for myriad reasons over the years.

I put in annually for a funded CME trip. I probably have a .250 batting average actually getting funded orders.

Regarding going over the S1's head and going to the XO? I would think twice about it. Is it a battle really worth fighting? Pick your fights wisely. You might win this battle, but lose a war later on. And, you really don't want to piss off the S1 unless this one is about to PCS out.

Worst case scenario: take the trip on non-funded orders and at least try to get something from the Navy (registration, hotel, something). Whatever you don't get, take off your taxes as a professional expense, assuming you itemize.
That goes on schedule A. If you do any moonlighting as an independent contractor, you can take the expenses off schedule C, which is much more beneficial to you vice schedule A. But, you must receive a 1099 (not a W-2) to be able to utilize schedule C.

Don Stafford
LCDR, NC, USNR

 

[denali]

This is a really frustrating issue to deal with the first time around; it occurs in the Army too. I had reasonable success solving it for my clinicians by including CME funds in my annual budget requests to the S4/Budget Officer. More often than not, it was approved. I too, however, had little success getting funding for TDY orders for my docs if I hadn't already addressed it at annual budget time. Have you talked to the S4 to see if he/she can find some money?

 

[trixmd]

I got the MAG to pay for aviation medicine related conference once, and a military medicine conference once. (I was presenting at the yearly SOMOS meeting) over 2 years. The only reasons I was successful at this, was because my predecessor and I had planned for it, and submitted the conference expenses as budgeted items the prior years, and my CO was very supportive of me. They also paid for reference items (books mostly) to take on float.

Do you know if your CMEs have been accounted for in the OPTAR budget? If not, you're not totally SOL, but you'll have to be very smooth WRT your command. (IE it will depend on the relationship you have have with rocket1 and rocket2, and if there is any slush in the budget right now. My command is short today, but I'm sure will be spending money like it's cool in August and September.)

NSHS may fund it, but you needed to submit the request 6 weeks in advance. I'd try submitting it and claiming "operational constraints" or some kind of hooyah justification.

This is similar to the contact lens program, where the aviation community declares someone (actually lots of someones) eligible for contacts, but then the hospital is responsible for the funding of said contact lenses.

Good luck - let me know how this pans out.

Trix

 

[ishii123]

Good luck - let me know how this pans out.

Trix

I had to go thru a lot of headaches and jump thru a bunch of hoops, but I got the TAD funding...persistence was key 🙂 My Marine squadron could not afford it, so I had to go to the MAG level. Fortunately, my SMO was supportive and personally walked it to the MAG CO and got it approved.

Thank you everyone for your support...this board is AWESOME 👍

 

[GMO_52]

I had to go thru a lot of headaches and jump thru a bunch of hoops, but I got the TAD funding...persistence was key 🙂 My Marine squadron could not afford it, so I had to go to the MAG level. Fortunately, my SMO was supportive and personally walked it to the MAG CO and got it approved.

Thank you everyone for your support...this board is AWESOME 👍

Congrats. I had the BUMED types reject 2 CME requests for various technicalities (they were pretty serious courses) but I did talk my command into buying me the board review series for my future specialty to use for CME.