CME in the theater

I subscribe to various news alerts and thought I'd share this one on Military CME. Whenever you are buried by paperwork and anytime you doubt how important CME really is, think of this conference, the Multi-National Corps-Iraq Physician Assistants Conference, “Healthcare in a Deployed Environment,” which was not only for PAs but other medical professionals:

“Bringing us together allowed us to learn about treatment procedures, emergency medical gear and new innovations that other physician assistants have developed,” said Col. William Tozier, Task Force 3 Medical Command senior physician assistant.

“The scope and severity of many of the injuries we see in theater on a daily basis are unlike those experienced at trauma centers (in the U.S.) — even very busy ones,” said Lt. Col. William Magdycz, M.D., Task Force 3 surgical consultant. “Our providers have developed a very unique expertise. Sharing their experience with other providers helps to generalize that knowledge in theater. This can only improve the timing and quality of care for our service members,” he said.

Once assigned in theater, many PAs find themselves in remote areas and without consistent communication due to limited phone and network access, Tozier said.

“This meeting allowed them to talk about topics that currently impact their practice,” Tozier said. “I expect that many will change the way they practice medicine as a result of this conference.

That is what is important — not the review of old medical information, but the creation of new information and practices as a result of what they learned here.”

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