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| How do I keep my knowledge and skills sharp? |
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by Jay Chamberlain, PA-C, MHP - July 9, 2011
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This is a question that all PAs and NPs have to ask themselves. When we are in school we are all excited to learn and expand our knowledge base in as many directions as possible. However, when you enter practice you quickly realize that your fund of knowledge is incomplete. Depending on your practice setting you may get formal education as part of your orientation, but that is not the norm. So what do you do? In time we gain the specialty experience that makes us a valuable member of the healthcare team, but as the years pass medicine requires us to maintain and expand our skills.
Advanced practice clinicians do have options, but they are not as obvious as our physician colleagues. There are some residency programs in a few specialties but not enough to train all the PAs and NPs interest in specialty practice. Other options include self learning programs and books, but without formal face to face contact these can leave you with incomplete teaching and more questions than answers.
You can also attend Physician or PA/NP association meetings. Unfortunately, many of these are the classic large venue, large crowded meeting room productions. I find these large association meetings in-personal and a poor settings for gaining the knowledge you need. They are great opportunities for mingling with your colleagues and becoming involved with your state or national organization, but you won’t come away with the information that will change your practice.
I have been fortunate to be involved with many great providers, both MD and PA/NP. They have taught me most of what I know. That experience lead to the creation of Chamberlain Medical Resources and www.cmr4cme.com. Over the past 6 years we have produced over 20 live CME/CE programs for PAs and NPs. We produce 2 types of programs the traditional what I call “play” program that is held at a resort or setting that provides many other opportunities for attendees to recreate. Our other programs are specialty based and designed to focus the learner and give you opportunities to gain the specialty knowledge that can change your practice. We do this by having smaller programs, usually fewer than 80, and by retaining faculty that are friendly, knowledgeable and accessible to the attendees.
CME is changing and the focus at all levels is being shifted towards smaller, non-biased, and problem based learning. At CMR4CME we have been fortunate to develop a series of specialty programs in Emergency Medicine, Orthopaedics, Ultrasound, Critical Care, and Critical Care Skills that meet these needs. Our teaching gives the PA and NP provider the skills and knowledge you can use to advance yourself into specialty practice.
Hopefully more programs will focus on skills and learning techniques similar to our PA/NP training. Until that time, look closely at your CME/CE expenditure and ask what you are really gaining with each session you attend? Our goal should always be to gain knowledge that will improve the care we provide to our patients.
 Jay Chamberlain PA-C, MHP, MA, is a practicing PA in Emergency Medicine and founder/president of Chamberlain Medical Resources/CMR4CME in Massachusetts. CMR4CME produces unique CME programs for PAs and NPs all over the USA. CMR also works with professional organizations on management issues and CME production. Current organizations include the Massachusetts Association of PAs and the Rhode Island Academy of PAs. Go to www.cmr4cme.com for information and a list of our current programs.
The viewpoint expressed in this article is the opinion of the author and is not necessarily the viewpoint of the owners or employees at Healthcare Staffing Innovations, LLC.
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