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Vivacity Consulting Invited to Present at 2015 ACEHP
Ms. Schwarz to Present at the 2015 ACEhp Meeting
Ms. Schwarz has been invited to present two times at the ACEhp (Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions) Conference in Grapevine, Texas, January 14 – 17, 2015.
Ms. Schwarz will participate as part of a panel entitled, “Mapping Success for the Learner, the Supporter, and the Organization” on Thursday, January 15th at 1:15 pm with the following co-presenters:
Content Development
Kristen Flemming, Manager, Self-Assessment and CME Publications, Endocrine Society
Erin Schwarz, CEO, Vivacity Consulting
Faculty Management
Claire MacDonald, Associate Director, Clinical Education, Endocrine Society
Pam Beaton, BS, CCMEP, Manager, Educational Accreditation and Certification, American College of Chest Physicians
Outcomes Reporting
Dennis R. Harris, PhD, Manager, Educational Research and Outcomes, Endocrine Society
Erik Brady, PhD, CCMEP, Director of Analytics, Reporting and Outcomes, Clinical Care Options, LLC
Program Assessment
Tonya McFadden, Manager, CME Accreditation and Practice Improvement, Endocrine Society
Derek Dietze, MA, FACEHP, CCMEP, Improve CME, LLC
In addition, Ms. Schwarz will present an abstract during the Research Abstract Cluster #2 entitled, “A Comprehensive Process for Identifying and Managing Conflicts of Interest Reduced Perceived Bias at a Specialty Society Annual Meeting.” This presentation will take place on Friday, January 16th at 9:45 am.
Please contact Ms. Schwarz for more information about these presentations.
Quality Improvement (QI) and Me
Stretch Assignment: 5 toe touches and a QI Initiative
We CME professionals often go about our day, working feverishly to ensure compliance for upcoming events and to finish the file for completed events. We all know that there is change brewing in healthcare, but if we have a chance to think about the big picture, it may not include the idea that quality improvement (QI) is in our wheelhouse. Well, some have suggested IF NOT US, THEN WHO?!Â
Remember: the ACCME/IMQ requirements are not just rules we have to follow. They are designed to facilitate the planning of education which will enable/inspire physicians to do their jobs better.
During a recent webinar regarding the ACEhp’s Education Initiative, Jack Kues defined quality improvement as the process by which current practice is moved towards best practice. Isn’t that what we CME professionals do all day, every day?
In the same webinar, Robin King stated that we need to remember to help practitioners implement best practices in their practice setting if we are going to initiate any change. This is our stretch assignment, because although we think about barriers to implementation, how many of us actively plan to address these barriers? We still buy-in to Francis Bacon’s statement that knowledge is power. (He was an Elizabethan from the 17th century. We now know it takes more than knowledge to change behavior.)Â
As we CME professionals take ownership of this QI issue, or at least, an appropriate portion of the ownership, we can be part of the change. I’m ready. Are you?
CME Consultant Musings: If I Ruled the World
Caution: CME Consultant at Work
If I ruled the world, educational activity objectives would be measurable every time. The word “understand” would be outlawed.
If I ruled the world, disclosure forms would be turned in 2 weeks BEFORE the deadline, completely filled out, signed and dated.
If I ruled the world, all of my activity data would batch upload into PARS at the ACCME the first time.
If I ruled the world, hospital IT departments would seamlessly allow emails about upcoming CME activities to flow, and would allow CME staff to participate in webinars using any webinar software the vendor suggests.
If I ruled the world, every ACCME Progress Report and IMQ Interim Report issued would also come with a box of See’s Candy dark chocolate covered mint patties. (That’s only fair.)
If I ruled the world, every Quality Department in the hospital would talk to the staff in the Medical Education office and figure out how they could help each other reach their goals.
If I ruled the world, the public would understand that continuing medical education is NOT a vehicle to get more money into doctor’s pockets but instead the best possible way to ensure health professionals are providing best-practice, evidence-based care to them and their loved ones.
Whoops, there’s that word understand. I guess I would outlaw that word for everyone but me, if I ruled the world!
(Musing:Â A product of contemplation; a thought.)
CME Research – Let’s Get Serious
Does CME Research Impact My Job?
Every time the JCEHP arrives in my in-box, I’ll admit it,  I groan a little. Will it be another study about improvements made by implementing an ongoing clinical intervention connected to a patient outcomes tracking system? Many of us don’t have access to something so sophisticated (or expensive).
Or maybe it’s another “Framework” for doing something – measuring outcomes, assessing effectiveness, etc, etc. Who has time to implement another framework?! I’ve got work to get done!
But recently, one of my physician clients asked in all seriousness, “Is there really a correlation between being ACCME compliant and providing an excellent meeting experience for attendees?” My gut answer is a resounding, “YES!” And lucky for me, many of our esteemed colleagues have created an incredible pool of proof, in the JCEHP and elsewhere, putting their time and possibly tears into producing research that backs up my experience with data.
Ah, data. Tricky thing, data. Tricky to collect, tricky to analyze, tricky to write up.
So to those of you who are contributing to this important and evolving area of study, THANK YOU! And to the rest of us, let’s get serious. Serious about how important it is to support those who work to improve our profession. If research isn’t your thing, perhaps you can inspire others to participate?
The editors of the JCEHP recently published a helpful editorial, pointing out errors that are often made when reporting evaluations of educational outcomes. This will be useful as I work with one of my clients to finalize the update to this manuscript. I commit to doing everything I can to support this effort and advocate/nag them into producing the next update as soon as possible.
Will you join me?
Can CME Make You Happy?
Or, Is It Possible to Follow CME Rules/Regulations/Criteria and Still Be Happy?
Often, new clients come to me when they are drastically unhappy. Their organization has received a Progress Report or Interim Report or even a Probation decision, and they don’t know what to do. Or they have had a staff member leave and they have to do the job now. Or they are a physician struggling to apply the CME criteria to their upcoming educational activity.
So a big part of my job is to help these very unhappy people find the fun in the challenges facing them.
“Fun?!” you may say, “Where’s the fun?” I once had an otolaryngologist say to me, “You really love this. I can tell. You love it ….” Implying that HE did not.
Perhaps my love of continuing medical education is a bit over the top, but I have found a few tricks over the years which help on those down days or weeks. You can do this as well. Here’s some ideas to turn the perceived burden of CME into an opportunity to be happy:
1. List your successes. Did you make a change to your evaluation form that helped you collect better data? Did you find an interesting journal article that describes a best practice? Did a physician provide an excellent practice gap on their CME activity request application? Research shows that writing down small positive memories enhances your mood, and this is as true in work life as in personal life.
2. Share your list with others. Incorporate successes into your Medical Education Committee agenda. Solicit successes from your Chairs and highlight them in your newsletter. Â See this blog post about how one of my clients made Criterion 6 useful.
3. Smile. People react to positively to body language, and I have found this is true even when they cannot see you. Smile when you are talking, even on the phone, and you will be amazed at the change.
4. Remember that you are on a continuum. The ACCME rewards programs for growth and improvement. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Track your successes and set goals for the future.
If you want to hear an amazing talk about Happiness, listen to Nataly Kogan’s TedXBoston talk here. Also, I would recommend Gretchen Rubin’s book, The Happiness Project, and her blog on the same subject.
(Credit to http://terriblycute.com/Â for the dog photo!)Â