4 Effective Techniques to Stretch Your CME Fund Further than Ever

4 Effective Techniques to Stretch Your CME Fund Further Than Ever was originally published at Modern MedEd

What is a CME Allowance?

It’s not uncommon for employed clinicians to have a limited annual CME allowance. Therefore, it stands to reason clinicians want to get the most value possible from their CME money.

As we’ve discussed before, clinicians’ annual CME budget can range from a paltry $1,500 to a healthy $5,000 or more, depending on various factors.

Complicating matters, in most cases, you forfeit any unspent CME money at the end of each year. This is known as the use-it-or-lose-it effect. Even more unspeakable is going over budget and being stuck with the rest of the bill.

Fortunately, there are many tried-and-true ways that healthcare providers use to maximize the value of their continuing medical education allowance.

Some may be morally…shady, but the strategies described here are all ‘white-hat,’ acceptable ways to maximize your CME allowance.

Furthermore, all of these techniques will leave you with a broader knowledge base; some will leave you with even more money in your pocket!

What if I Don’t Have a CME Allowance?

While a CME allowance is a popular employment perk for clinicians, it’s not a universal truth, unfortunately.

After all, there’s no law that entitles you to one. Is there?

Well, no, of course not. However, there are a few simple ways to ease this pain. You can always stick to free CME, which in today’s digital world is totally possible. There is no shortage of free online CME out for if you are willing to look. For another, possibly better quick fix, skip to technique number two below.

For healthcare professionals in the United States, there is another option. Know that Uncle Sam understands your pain. In most cases, your expenses for CME and other professional obligations can qualify as tax-deductible.

For those still developing their financial literacy, a “tax deduction” generally means you deduct the amount spent from your earned income for the year, lowering your tax bill.

It turns out taxes are super complicated, so do your own research and consult a qualified tax professional (you wouldn’t ask your mechanic for medical advice, would you) before acting on information you get from the internet.

If you couldn’t tell already, I’m a clinician in the most litigious country in the world who was raised by a medical malpractice attorney and an accountant, and that sentence above is called a “CYA.”

A tax deduction is not as good of a deal as having someone else pay for your CME outright (which, to be sure, also has tax implications in the US), but it’s better than nothing.

With that said, here are four ways to maximize the value of your CME allowance (or lack thereof).

1. Speak at a Conference

There are two types of people in this world: those who love speaking in front of a crowd, and those who’d rather be dead. The same is true of clinicians.

However, I encourage you to reject any personal dogma you hold telling you that public speaking is not for you.

We’ve shown you how speaking can be a lucrative side gig in the past. Luckily enough, it can also be a nice way to (maybe) get your conference fees covered.

Most reputable conferences will at least waive the cost of registration for their speakers. Some might also pitch in for certain expenses like airfare, food, hotel, and an honorarium.

It is still a good idea to attend local and national conferences even if you aren’t speaking. The networking itself can earn you exponential returns for yourself and your career.

If you want to improve your public speaking skills before doing the real thing, get Dale Carnegie’s timeless book on public speaking for less than the cost of a propranolol prescription.

2. Take Advantage of CME with Gift Card Offers

A select few CME providers will effectively subsidize the cost of your CME purchase with truly generous gift cards. We’re talking about bundles that include CME plus an Amazon gift card with as much as $1,000 on it! Occasionally, gift cards from other retailers surface, too.

However, with the ability to find and sell just about anything, an Amazon gift card is almost as good as cash.

So where can you find one of these unicorns? One of the best we’ve come across is from world-class CME and board-prep extraordinaire, Board Vitals.

CME Gift Card Offer #1 — Board Vitals

Their all-encompassing specialty product, CME Pro Plus Self-Assessment MOC activity, comes with a $2,500 Amazon gift card or $2,500 Amex gift card. It is truly one of the best CME with gift card offers on the internet.

What’s the catch? Like any quality product, it’s the price tag. Also like any quality product, you won’t regret buying it. But we can help soften (or eliminate) that financial blow.

Purchase this $4,750 beast of a CME/study aid and get a $2,500 Amazon or Apple gift card in return. And yes, they have one for your specialty.

CME Gift Card Offer #2 — Oakstone

There are also other companies that offer CME with gift cards to help you get the most value from your CME allowance. There are usually minimum purchase amounts and other restrictions, so be forewarned.

One such company, Oakstone, offers clinicians CME with up to a $2,000 Amazon gift card when you purchase a one or two year subscription to CME info Insider.

Again, don’t go in expecting a free lunch. They aren’t pharmaceutical reps, after all (hey-oh). A one year subscription to your specialty of choice will run you almost $2,000 and a two year subscription costs around $3,000 at the time of writing. Check here for updates.

Like the Board Vitals offer above, this is also an extremely well-put together online CME program. The creators clearly did not scrimp on quality and have fairly reflected this effort in the price. That doesn’t mean you still can’t come out ahead.

For example, let’s imagine you have $1,000 remaining in your CME allowance. If you buy the one-year membership, you are essentially getting an otherwise admittedly pricey CME program for free. With $2,000 remaining in your CME allowance, your employer picks up the cost of your education and you are rewarded extra with $1,000 to spend on Amazon.

If you put it on the right credit card, you may even come out ahead with those sweet rewards points. But that’s a topic for another day.

Either way, you get unlimited access to high-quality, relevant category 1 CME for any specialty you could imagine for an entire year. And because the product was developed as an online CME program, you can work through it at your own pace.

3. Take Advantage of Exclusive Discounts

With the rise of both the volume and quality of online medical education, competition has become fierce. This is great for clinicians, because it means they have more choice in where to spend their CME allowance. Not only are more online CME programs available, but fun, innovate, live CME events are also increasing.

Many of these online CME providers offer exclusive discounts for certain partner audiences. For example (and for a little self-promotion), we at Modern MedEd have various affiliate partnerships. This means companies you see here are more than happy to give you a discount just for clicking certain links of ours (and using our discount codes, of course).

They may also give us a commission on any sales we generate. So it’s a win-win.

Most of these companies also offer a free trial or money-back guarantee for those who aren’t totally sure about making that big purchase.

It’s totally understandable, and just plain smart, if you ask us, especially for new customers. This way you can try out the product and won’t kick yourself (or us) if it’s not up to your expectations. Worst case scenario: you get to log free category 1 CME hours.

You can also sign up to get the super secret, extra exclusive offers that are only available to our email subscribers. Ok, self-promotion time is over today.

4. Write Your Own CME

This one is a good option if you are the type who enjoys writing and teaching others about your areas of clinical expertise.

Clinicians are major sources of medical information for these CME providers. Most of them are almost always looking for good healthcare professionals who can also write, speak, or deliver a good performance on camera. Why not you?

One drawback is that you typically get category 2 CME credit for this work, even if you are creating what will eventually be category 1 CME.

I know, it seems a little weird that creating awesome category 1 CME only nets you category 2, but that’s life. Check with your certifying body or licensing board for more details before claiming credit because they may tell you something else.

However, you may be able to earn some category 2 CME now and claim the sweet category 1 CME for free at a later date.

That’s because once your work becomes accredited, it’s usually a part of a larger program. You may be granted access for free as an additional perk of being a (paid, usually) contributor. For instance, I was on Hippo Education’s Primary Care RAP CME podcast in the past, and enjoyed this exact set-up. In fact, I still enjoy listening to my fellow contributors’ work, as well as earning category 1 CME credit from it.

Make the Most of Your CME Fund

You now have a few tools and techniques that can stretch that measly CME budget a bit further. Even if you have no CME allowance, you can now feel like you do!

You can travel to new places for those great CME medical conferences, use discounts to increase your CME fund’s value, or get paid to learn while creating CME for your colleagues.

For a comprehensive listing of the offers in this article, head over to our store here.

Which of these techniques is your favorite? We’d also love to hear of any we may have missed.