07/26/2023 Allen Jacobs, DPM
Podiatry Meetings..."We Cannot Direct the Wind But We Can Adjust the Sails." (George A. Cioe)
The recent commentary regarding the state of post-
graduate education for CME is noted. His
participation in seminar programs and his products
for the betterment of patient health are
appreciated. Like Mr. Cioe, I miss the days of the
large scientific gatherings such as the great
Hershey seminars, the old Connecticut state
meetings, and do enjoy the few remaining similar
programs such as the NYSPMS annual meeting.
Peter, Paul, and Mary popularized the Bob Dylan
song “The times they are a changin“. So too has
podiatry post-graduate education. CHEC is first and
foremost to serve the doctor, not the exhibitor. My
own seminar, the St. Louis Podiatry Seminar, has
increased in registration every year since going
virtual as part of the hybrid presentation model.
It is the responsibility of the industry to
determine how to best market podiatrists in the
environment of virtual education. Not only are
travel costs eliminated with virtual education,
many programs are available “on demand“, allowing
the registrant maximum freedom to determine when
appropriate time is available.
Hybrid meetings, such as a St. Louis Podiatry
Seminar illustrates the popularity of virtual
meetings. Last year we had 55 individuals
registered live at the hotel, and over 300
registered virtually. It is industry that will have
to adjust to the demands and needs of the podiatric
audience and the reverse.
There is also a reality to be dealt with. Every
year there are over 300 podiatry meetings
conducted. These range from local society dinner
lectures to national meetings. It seems as though
every state, region, special interest groups, and
corporations, maintain and conduct at least one if
not more CME opportunities per year. That is a
reality. There are also a member of meetings that
are held by independent groups that are very well
attended. I do not see any groups voluntarily
relinquishing their programs in favor of reducing
the number of CECH programs voluntarily. it will
not happen.
One reason many of the seminars are poorly attended
in my opinion, is the lack of producing a
compelling program content. Many of the educational
offerings feature the same speakers with
essentially the same topics year after year after
year. I can only listen to so many lectures on
onychomycosis or on surgical procedures seldom
performed by the majority of every day pediatric
physicians.
Another factor is the realization that many of
these programs are sponsored by corporations, or
contain multiple speakers that are paid for by
corporations. I do not want to pay for a program
where I’m being subtly encouraged to utilize a
particular product or service. This may work the
first one or two times, but eventually people catch
on and are not going to pay for what is essentially
a commercial disguised as a lecture. There has been
too much of this.
Destination meetings, probably have the best chance
of continuing to be successful. Registrants in
reality, sign in, may attend some of the lectures,
but generally have brought family, golf clubs, cash
for gambling, or whatever to enjoy the destination,
and really are not there for the majority of the
lectures. Attendance is much easier to verify
virtually than it is live because there’s really no
enforcement with true verification of attendance at
live meetings.
I can summarize all of this with the following
story. Many years ago when I was beginning my
career in this profession, I was lecturing at a
very major meeting here in the United States. I was
the last lecture of the day. When I arrived, the
room was pretty much empty. As the lecture
preceding, Mi was reaching its conclusion, the room
began to fill. as I began my lecture, the room
filmed up more and more, and was standing room
only. I was thinking to myself what an important
lecture I must be. The room had been empty for most
of that afternoon and now here were people standing
in the halls filling every seat.
I was thinking how much I could not wait to tell my
wife how popular I was. When I concluded my
lecture, the doors to the lecture room opened, and
people were being scanned as they exited the room.
At this particular meeting at that particular time,
you could only obtain your continuing hours of
educational credit on exiting the room at the
completion of the day’s lectures. It did make me
laugh, however when I realized I was not quite the
attraction I thought I was. But I think it does
summarize the current state of continuing medical
education.
Allen Jacobs, DPM, St. Louis, MO
