Where do I watch CMEpalooza Fall?
You watch it on the LIVE page.

Is anything different about watching this time? Do I still have to refresh the page to watch new sessions? That is super annoying.
Yes, it is a little different this time. No, you do not have to refresh the page to watch new sessions. Every session now has a unique link, so you don’t need to refresh the LIVE page to watch each new session. Just find the session you want to watch at the appropriate time and click that link to begin.

Will people be able to hear me on the broadcast?
No. You are not on the broadcast. You are only watching a video feed of the broadcast. You can play Cemetery Polka by Tom Waits at full volume and no one will hear you except your neighbors, who might call the police, who might interrupt you while watching CMEpalooza. So, don’t play Cemetery Polka by Tom Waits at full volume while watching CMEpalooza.

Can I watch CMEpalooza at home?
Yes.

Can I watch CMEpalooza at the office?
Er…uh…maybe? (I answer this question every year and this is the first time I’m not sure how to answer it.)

Can I watch CMEpalooza in a conference room with 150 other people?
No! I mean…you “can” but…let’s not do that. 150 people in a conference room for anything seems like a really really bad idea right now. Stay home. Put on your pajamas. Relax.

Can I watch CMEpalooza while at a coffee shop?
That depends. Do you own your own coffee shop and will you be watching by yourself? If no, then…No! Stay home!

Can I watch CMEpalooza at home with my pets?
I don’t know. Let’s ask them.

Ehhhh maybe not.

Do I have to pre-register or register?
Nope.

Do I have to pay anything to watch CMEpalooza? I love paying registration fees.

No. You don’t have to pay anything to watch CMEpalooza.

Do I have to take a survey afterward?
Well, you don’t have to, but it would be nice if you did. It’s only seven questions and shouldn’t take you more than 60 seconds. If it takes you more than 60 seconds, Scott will parade by your house and recreate the Danke Schoen scene from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Can I get a certificate for watching CMEpalooza?
Actually, yes. Well, kind of. We’re not accredited or certified or anything like that, and we have no way of verifying whether you actually watched any of these sessions or not. But if you want a certificate of completion that you can use to self-report participation in CMEpalooza Fall 2020, here you go. I’ll also post it on the LIVE page tomorrow. Who knows, maybe these certificates will be worth something 2,000 years from now.

How do I ask questions of the presenters?
Good question. There are two ways you can ask questions:

1. Send a text to the FreeCME text line at 267-666-0CME (0263)
2. Tweet a question using the #CMEpalooza hashtag

We try to get to as many questions as we can throughout each presentation.

Do I have to watch all the sessions?
YES! No. Watch what interests you.

Will the sound quality for each presenter be crystal clear with consistent volume and no glitches?
I mean, really, have you been on, I don’t know, 500 web calls in the last month? Is it always perfect for everyone? Of course not. That said, we’re better with this technology stuff than the average bear – we HAVE been doing this for 7 years now so hopefully we’ve learned something. So will it be pretty good for almost every presenter? Yes, yes it will. There will be some people who sound better than others. There may be a few glitches and hiccups. That’s just how it goes with a free conference where presenters volunteer their time and use their own equipment. Some people aren’t comfortable doing a presentation while wearing headphones and a mic, so we don’t force them to use it. We do the best that we can with what we have available to us.

Will I be offended by anything during CMEpalooza?
There is a 99.9% chance that I will be drinking a beverage of an alcoholic nature during CME Pop Trivia (4:00 pm ET), so if that offends you, then yes, I guess. There also might be some Rock and/or Roll music playing, so plan accordingly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What if I’m busy during the day of the live broadcast?
All the sessions will be archived on the website, like, immediately. How are we able to do it so fast? We have a co-worker who is a real crackerjack on the interwebs. Here she is hard at work, writing our latest blog post.

palooza haiku
back for at least one more time
but probably more

coming up next week
cmepalooza fall
online and awesome

9 AM ET – The Case of the Rejected Grant Request: A CMEpalooza Whodunit

you like mysteries?
here’s one: the case of the
missing syllable

10 AM ET – Surviving 2020: How COVID-19 and Social Justice Issues Impact the Health of Under-Represented Communities

this stellar panel
will help you survive the year
no murder hornets

11 AM ET – The 5-Year 5-Month Plan

five year predictions
will be as successful as
a fork stirring soup

Noon ET – Industry Updates & Supporter Positioning: Building Long-term Competencies, Agility, & Resilience

oh to be a fly
on the IACE meeting wall
this is your one shot

1 PM ET – The CME Dictionary

goal: define words like
needs assessment, spaced learning
terms of endearment

2 PM ET – Program Managers: We Get the Job Done!

when the going gets
tough the tough stop and call a
program manager

3 PM ET – The CE Report Card: Rating the Industry Performance in a Virtual World

hey, how you doin’
asked joey tribbiani
these guys will tell us

4 PM ET – CME Pop Trivia

pop goes trivia
because trivia goes pop
and CME too

Sponsors

three precious metals
but if you want a haiku
it’s gold or silver

Gold

PER translates
science of medicine to
art of patient care

a better poet
would rhyme john ruggiero with
Daiichi-Sankyo

president tim hayes
Academic CME
four time gold sponsor

Silver

Projects in Knowledge
is a much better name than
Ignorance Projects

PlatformQ is not
the same as AvenueQ
there are no puppets

If you like pina
coladas and love the rain
write me and Medscape

hey-o Healio
a silver sponsor this year
very coolio

what did the shopper
say to the supermarket
Haymarket…get it?

when two become one
CCO and PCE
back for more haiku

Like a mother hen gathering her chicks around her, I love all of my CMEpalooza sessions with equal affection. But I will admit that I do have a special fondness for whatever session ends up in the last slot of the day. That slot always has the toughest row to hoe and regardless of topic or start time, always has the fewest number of viewers. It has always been the case with live conferences and it is the case with virtual conferences, too. (Note from Scott: Derek, stop giving away our secrets!)

With that in mind, I would like to give a plug for everyone to stick around for the last session of CMEpalooza Fall 2020: CME Pop Trivia! I, Derek (not Scott), will serve as the all-knowing Quizmaster for four rounds of CME trivia…and a sprinkling of pop culture, too. I have requested the services of four noble Questionmasters to develop four questions in four topics and they all graciously accepted.

• From Questionmaster Brian McGowan: CME History
• From Questionmaster Scott Gorman: ACCME Commendation Criteria
• From Questionmaster Tricia Wilson: Standards for Commercial Support
• From Questionmaster Jon Simmons: Your Editor’s Top Pet Peeves About Your Proposals

After each set of 4 questions, there will be an extra question based on some piece of arcane pop culture trivia that will have no relation to anything else. Why? Because it’s fun!

There will be music. Why? Because it’s fun!

There will be drinking. Why? Because it’s fun!

Lengthy side note: It is the last session at the end of what is always a long day, so yes, I plan to take advantage of the situation and have myself a beverage while hosting trivia. Feel free to join me.

The drink of the day will be a Manhattan (note from Scott: Yes, Derek is an old man). No need to Google a recipe when I am here to help.

My preferred Manhattan is as follows:

• Fill a cocktail shaker half full with ice
• Add 2 oz rye (Bulleit is nice, Rittenhouse is better, and Dad’s Hat Vermouth Finish Rye is my favorite)
• Add 1 oz sweet vermouth (Antica Formula is excellent and Dolin Rouge is also nice. I suppose you can use Rosso, too, just don’t tell me.)
• Shake in 3 dashes of Angostura bitters
• Cover and shake until the shaker freezes your hands
• Strain into a glass (you’re supposed to use a coupe glass, but seriously, who even has those?)
• Add one, maybe even two, Luxardo cherries. DO NOT USE GENERIC MARASCHINO CHERRIES. Look, if your idea of fine dining is a 4:45 reservation at Applebees, well-done steak with ketchup, and a bottle of Bud Light, then maybe regular old Maraschino cherries are for you. Otherwise, trust me on this one and spend a few extra bucks on Luxardo. They make everything better.
• Pro tip: after adding your cherries, scoop out a little of the cherry syrup and mix it into your drink. You will thank me later.
• Grab your drink and get ready for trivia!

There will be prizes. Why? Because of the generous support from our prize sponsor Haymarket! (First place gets a $250 Amazon gift card. Second place gets $150. Third place gets $100.)

We will be using Poll Everywhere, so if you want to be super-prepared, you can go ahead and download the Poll Everywhere app.

I really hope that some/many/all of you can join. It should be a fun time and who knows? You might even learn something.