Monday, January 22, 2007
AAHPM Preview - Pre-con 2/14
Since the AAHPM's Annual Assembly is coming up, I would like to go through the schedule with you day-by-day and highlight which talks or presenters might be particularly good or interesting. I look forward to getting the brochure for the first time ans seeing all the different people speaking and what topics are 'hot' or 'not this year. This is not a ringing endorsement or a session to tell you which talks you should or should not go to. If I don't mention anything about a session, it is way more likely I do not have a strong enough opinion to waste your time reading a weak preview. If you have any comments on any of the presenters or talks please feel free to add.
Click here for the AAHPM Annual Assembly Brochure 2007 (pdf)
Register soon if you have not already!
Wed, Feb 14th - Preconference Workshops
All Day
Hospice Medical Director Course - Module A - Clinical Skills
I enjoyed the Module (B) I went to a few years ago, and thought it was really well put together. Since I did fellowhsip this session probably would not add too much for me, but is likely a great overview for those just starting in the field. I wonder what will happen to these sessions after fellowship becomes mandatory?
Career Development Bootcamp (Casarett and the Palliative Care Rock Stars)
I went to this session two years ago (or a previous incarnation of it). I found it quite helpful and met some good contacts during the session who were in similar boats to mine. i think the difficulty with sessions like this is that depending on your clinical location and organizations ability to respond some of the issues here may be beyond reach for some. I think the cast they have for this is outstanding as you can tell by my fawning over the crew they have selected for this session. It just reads like a list of the last journal of JPM.
8a-Noon
Opioids in Pain Management (Mellar Davis and Susan LeGrand, among others)
Probably a good choice if the Module seems a bit too simple. Have not heard these two talk before but I know they know what they are talking about.
Billing for Hospice Services (Chamberlain)
Great choice if your clinical skills are honed but you just can't seem to keep your physician billing to the level that you might expect with a specialty practice that has no procedures. There are some pretty confusing things in understanding and optimizing billing so if you have not been to a billing talk before this is probably the Daddy of them all.
Home Visits (Woods, Farmer, others)
I don't know Woods, but I do know Chad Farmer as he was one of the original founders of the Fellow's email list that eventually became the Professionals in Training Special Interest Group. Never heard him talk, but he is a pretty good guy. And since this group is all from LifePath, I am sure they know how to make your home visit program more worthwhile.
1p-5p
Evidence-Based Formulation of Prognosis (Sinclair, Salacz, Affield)
(Shameless plug) I submitted this talk because prognostication is one of my favorite topics in palliative medicine. It combines the mystery of the unknown with science and exploration. Prognostication is always asked of us as professionals, but we frequently are working from gut rather than data. Since I was never taught how to prognosticate, and only been to a single hour lecture (by Christakis), I have really jumped into this subject whole-heartedly. We are planning a very interactive and informative 4 hours, so I would probably call this the pick of the day. :-)
Implementing a Nursing Home Palliative Care Program (Levy)
I don't know the speaker, and the topic probably deserves a 4 hour time slot. There are a lot of pearls to be gained from those that have managed to work well with the nursing home population. It looks like it goes beyond how to market to them (more pens!) and actually how to work together clinically which should be the goal.
Competency-Based Assessment for Fellowship Faculty (Billings/Block)
It is too bad I am talking during this time, because anytime you get a chance to see Billings and Block present you should try and make it if the topic interests you at all. I was honored to be a part of their Harvard PCEP program (you should do it too!) and get to know both of them. I learned how to teach others from them. They are great teachers. This should be a good session but may end up being a small group workshop based on the small audience it is geared towards which works in its favor.
No comments on the HPNA sessions because I am not familiar with any of the speakers. I have heard good things about the BOATING one-act play about goals of care which is in the afternoon session. And APN billing is probably a big issue for those of us working with APN's. I work with a very good APN at KC Hospice and given all the confusing state regulations for this new discipline, anything to help work through the red tape is welcome.
Again, leave your comments especially if you want to advocate for your talk!