Sponsored PGY4 Travel to Specialty Conference

[Tyler Schmitz]

Good Morning,

Do any programs pay for their PGY4 residents to attend their specialty conference for fellowship networking? We have been discussing this at our program and it would be great to know what other programs do.

Thank you!

Tyler

[Angela Weiss]

Hi Tyler:

Last year was the first time we gave our R4s the option of using their AAOS travel stipend to attend their specialty annual meeting instead of attending AAOS with their class.  Last year one resident attended their specialty annual meeting instead of AAOS.

If our R4s want to attend their specialty annual meeting but also want to attend AAOS with their class, they also have an R3 Advanced Course travel stipend they can use to attend their specialty annual meeting (if they didn’t use it their R3 year).  If they present research at their specialty annual meeting, they have the option to use departmental research travel funds to attend their specialty annual meeting and still go to AAOS with their class.

Regarding your earlier med student end of rotation social question, we have two recruitment R4s and they organize the end of clerkship rotation socials each year.  They are funded by our chair, and the cost is $150-200 per social.  The R4s host the socials in their home or if the weather cooperates, an apartment complex rooftop area, or at a local park or beach (Golden Gardens, etc.)

I hope to see you in Dallas, Tyler! 😊

Angela

University of Washington

[Cindy Thompson]

Tyler,

In the past, we have always sent our PGY4s to AAOS.  However, since AAOS has become more of a social event than an actual educational conference, we have changed our approach and now send our PGY4s to the specialty conference associated with the fellowship they are applying to.

Thus far this year, only one of those conferences has taken place, AOSSM.  The resident who attended was very appreciative that we made the switch and felt it was a much more valuable experience for them as they prepare for fellowship.

I think this change will be beneficial for our PGY4s and allow them to get more out of the conference and networking experience.

Cindy

[Tyler Schmitz]

Hi Cindy,

Thank you for your reply! Can I ask how much you cover for each of your residents? Also, how many days are they approved to attend their conference?

Thank you,

Tyler

[Cindy Thompson]

Tyler,

We cover the entire cost of the conference, including registration, hotel, airfare, and transportation to and from the airport/hotel.  They also receive a per diem for meals not provided by the meeting, based on the GSA rate for the city where the conference is being held.

They are approved to attend the entirety of the conference.  However, we do not cover the cost of any additional courses or specialty courses offered separately during the meeting.  This is counted as work hours as well.

[Shawna Hook-Held]

This is really interesting! If they are presenting at a conference, we reimburse up to $2000 (the WOA in Hawaii had a lot of speakers from our residency lol). However, we give Chiefs $2000 for a conference on their choice as not many of them were going to AAOS. Before this thread, I didn’t think about how beneficial it could be to give PGY4s access to this funding. This is definitely something I will discuss with my PD!

[Helen Womack]

This is the first year we gave our PGY4s the option of going to a conference of their choice instead of going to AAOS.  (We feel the same way about AAOS as someone else mentioned).  They’ve been looking forward to going together to Las Vegas since they were interns, so no one chose to go to a different conference this year.  Each PGY class has a specific conference they attend as a class each year and they have to use their $2600 CME money to pay for the trip and the overage is covered by an internal foundation grant.   Below is a breakdown of the courses our residents go to as a class. – Helen Womack, Charlotte, NC

PGY1 – OTA Fracture Conference

PGY2 – AAOS Fundamentals of Knee

PGY3- IPOS/POSNA

PGY4 – AAOS or specialty conference

PGY5 – Miller Review and one additional course/conference

 

 

 

[Helen Anderson]

Yes, the University of Utah pays for a specialty conference for PGY4s. I was surprised to learn how much networking happens between our faculty and fellowship applicants. We’ve had to offer extra interviews when our faculty returns from a conference, so we leave a few spots open if there’s a conference between offer day and interview day. There is no budget limit for the trip, and we pay for registration, hotel, airfare, ground transportation, and a daily allowance for meals.

Here’s our standard trips per class:

PGY1 – No conference

PGY2 – AO Trauma Basic

PGY3 – Conference of choice

PGY4 – Fellowship Specialty Conference

PGY5 – AAOS

In addition to these conferences, our department will also pay all travel expenses for podium presentations, so residents can travel up to 2-4 conferences per year. Last year’s average per trip was around $2200/domestic and $2600/international.

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