So when Derek and I crafted the schedule for CMEpalooza Fall, we purposely built in a break over lunch for several reasons.

First and foremost, it would give us a chance to take a breath and eat something. After all, a hungry Palooza co-producer is a grouchy Palooza co-producer.

Second, it would give our audience a break as well. We recognize that we’ve coordinated a very busy schedule and people are more likely going to pop in and out of the live sessions than sit through the whole day, so taking an hour off would be sensible from that standpoint as well.

Finally, we wanted to throw the carrot out there to anyone interested in a Gold Level Sponsorship that signing up would permit them to work with us to plan a Lunchtime Symposium that would fill in this open slot.

A pipe dream? Maybe. But, ah yes, sometimes Little Johnny, those pipe dreams come true…

And so it is that we are thrilled to announce that Genentech has signed on as the Gold Sponsor for CMEpalooza Fall. We are currently working on finalizing the panelists and specific details for this session, but the working title is “Incorporating Learning Systems and Quality Improvement Into Continuing Medical Education.” We’ll have further details on as plans solidify.

So now the question is, who wants to deliver us sandwiches at, say, 11:55 a.m.? We promise we’ll eat off camera. And wipe the mustard off our face.

Over the next couple months leading up to CMEpalooza Fall, we will be doing a series of short interviews (approximately 10 minutes) with each of the session moderators. We thought this might be a nice way for everyone to get to know the faculty a little better and also provide an overview of the individual sessions. Each interview will consist of 5 questions ranging from why they are optimistic about the future of CME to why participants should tune in to their session — plus, a special bonus question at the end.

First up is Jan Perez, Managing Partner at CME Outfitters and moderator of the Death of the MECC: Fact or Fiction? session. Here are a few snippets from the interview:

On the future of CME:

I’m very optimistic about the future of CME. I think we’ve learned a lot of lessons over the past three years, which have been really tough for a lot of folks – MEC’s especially. I think if we take those lessons and we learn from them, then we have a tremendous opportunity to grow.

On what she worries about most regarding CME:

What I’m most worried about is that, as accredited providers, not that we can’t adapt and move forward, but I am a little concerned that commercial supporters will say, ‘You know what? I just don’t want to deal with this [CME and Sunshine Act]’ and funding will be cut even more.

On what she believes to be an important change to CME over the past 5 years:

We have evolved in our outcomes from the perspective of…our expectation now is that we measure what we do. And that has become, rather than something we are striving for, that has become our baseline.

You can watch the full interview below.

 

 

I just wanted to take a brief moment to publicly acknowledge our three most recent CMEpalooza Fall sponsors: Imedex, Impact Education, and RedMedEd. Imedex is our first Silver Level sponsor, specifically sponsoring the 1:00 PM  What Do Supporters Do With Outcomes Data? session, which will be moderated by John Ruggiero, PhD, CCMEP, Senior Medical Education Manager, Independent Medical Education Department, Genentech.

Please be sure to visit the Sponsors page for more information on these organizations, contact details, and to watch Imedex’s video, Imedex on 21st Century Television. A big thank you to all of them for their support of CMEpalooza Fall and for helping us make this a great educational event for the CME/CE community!

For more information on how you can be a sponsor, please click here for the Sponsorship Prospectus.

UPDATE: You can now also watch Impact Education’s video, Impact Education — Managed Care Roundtable Demo, on the Sponsors page.