Attendee Support

Spotlight on VALUE!

This section is designed to provide assistance in explaining the value of PAINWeek to your employer, to secure consent for your participation.

To jump to a specific section, click the header you want below.

The PAINWeek Advantage
Become an Educational Asset
Demonstrating Return on Investment
Sample Letter
PAINWeek 101
The PAINWeek Scholarship Program

The PAINWeek Advantage

When thinking about continuing education for pain management, do the math:

• 116 million people in pain
• 4,000 pain specialists
• 29,000 patients per pain specialist
• There are simply not enough pain specialists to go around

At PAINWeek, you can custom design a learning experience of up to 36.0 CE/CME credit hours from the most comprehensive pain education curriculum offered anywhere: in 2015, we presented over 120 hours of continuing education and informational programs across some 18 different course concentrations. PAINWeek now enjoys the collaborative support of 22 professional and patient advocacy groups, including the American Pain Society, the American Academy of Pain Medicine, and the Veterans Health Administration. This curriculum is further augmented by a full complement of satellite symposia, product theatres, interactive activities, and the PAINWeek exhibit hall.

Become an Educational Asset

Here are some specific considerations that can affirm the value of your participation in PAINWeek.

• WHY PAINWEEK? In addition to the conference attributes listed above, and those detailed elsewhere on this web site (see “why attend”), it’s important to emphasize the multidisciplinary and multispecialty nature of PAINWeek. Many attendees relate that the opportunity for interaction and networking with professionals from diverse specialties and practice backgrounds is among the most valuable aspects of participation
• WHAT WILL YOU BRING BACK? Review the conference agenda to identify sessions that are most valuable to your clinical setting. If you are a first time attendee, be sure to see the special “First-timers” suggested agenda, available soon. Outline your planned curriculum including benefits for your practice and your organization: new skills and competencies; new treatment understanding; awareness of resources and professional organizations; new product knowledge; networking
• WHAT CAN YOU SHARE? Offer to prepare and deliver a short presentation with Q&A for your colleagues to share what you have learned. This leverages your experience to others in your organization who can benefit from your knowledge. As an attendee, you have access to all materials provided by conference faculty and speakers. Share these materials and handouts with colleagues:
  
  For a nominal additional fee, attendees may purchase the Online Content Package (slides and synced audio) covering the entire PAINWeek curriculum.* This is of great value to you, as a means to experience concurrent course sessions that you are unable to attend onsite.
• HOW MUCH CE/CME CREDIT CAN YOU EARN? Depending on your specialty, you can earn up to 36.0 CE/CME credit hours at PAINWeek (even more if you additionally attend certified satellite events). With access to the most comprehensive curriculum of any pain conference, your 4 day investment is among the most cost effective approaches to earning certified credit. If your hospital has or is trying to obtain magnet status, remind your supervisor that demonstrating staff participation in continuing education is vital to securing and keeping magnet status.
• WHO WILL COVER FOR YOU? Create a schedule outlining the staff coverage for your responsibilities while you’re at PAINWeek
• WHAT DO OTHERS SAY ABOUT PAINWEEK? Share with your supervisor some of the testimonials from past attendees. Click here to see a few

*Approximately 95% of the total PAINWeek curriculum is available in the Online Content Package. Online courses are not certified for credit.

Demonstrating Return on Investment

Management decisions about resource allocation will often start with these 2 components:

• Expense
• Return on investment

Here are some commonly used tools for calculating and presenting the return on investment of your participation in PAINWeek.

TOTAL EXPENSE:

Estimating return on investment

To be most persuasive in justifying your attendance, you should focus on the intersection between your/your organization’s knowledge requirements and the PAINWeek agenda opportunities. Refer to the conference agenda and design a personal curriculum that maximizes this intersection. If you are new to PAINWeek, the suggested PAINWeek 101 agenda may help.

Consider the categories in the following Benefits Worksheet, and adapt them to your organizational situation/needs:

By presenting these aggregated benefits against a solid estimate of expenses, you can provide your management with the assurance of demonstrated value—to you, and to the organization as a whole.

Sample Letter

The following sample letter can be adapted and used to convey your presentation.

[date]

Dear [your supervisor's name]:

To help provide [your facility] and our patients with the most current professional knowledge and skills in pain management, I would like to attend the PAINWeek^® 2017 National Conference. This conference provides up to 36.0 live credit hours plus scientific posters, satellite symposia, and postconference webinars that address all aspects of pain management. A program guide will be provided to all meeting registrants and can be shared after the event with my colleagues who did not attend the conference. The following are some of the sessions that would be of particular relevance:

[List sessions that will provide the greatest benefit to your facility.]

[In this paragraph list transportation costs, registration fee, meals, and the price per night of the hotel room.]

Attending the PAINWeek 2017 National Conference will enhance my knowledge and skills, which will enable me to provide better care for my patients. I hope to pass on much of what I learn to my colleagues, and my notes and copies of the speaker presentations will be available for reference. Thank for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,
[your name]

PAINWeek 101

First time at PAINWeek? We have a special offering just for you! Attend PAINWeek 101 and become familiar with everything you need to know to make the most of your PAINWeek experience. We’ll cover session selection (including a recommended agenda), conference logistics, exhibits and special events, CE/CME credit request procedures, and more!*

*This session is not certified for credit.

Click here to download the PAINWeek 101 guide.

The PAINWeek Scholarship Program

Apply for a scholarship to PAINWeek 2017

PAINWeek is the nation's largest pain conference for frontline clinicians with an interest in pain management. Convening at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on September 5-9, more than 2,200 physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, nurses, pharmacists, hospitalists, dentists, psychologists, and social workers are expected to attend. There will be 120+ hours of continuing medical education courses and master classes, special interest sessions, and satellite events.

PAINWeek will award 10 scholarships* that cover the cost of registration, and one grand prize winner will receive $1,000 to put towards the cost of conference travel and accommodations.

Scholarship applicants must be:

• At least 18 years of age
• Actively involved in health care or health care education
• Available to attend the live scholarship awards ceremony that takes place at PAINWeek on Wednesday, September 6

Scholarship applicants may not be:

• Industry-employed
• A past scholarship winner

Essay Requirements:

• Essays must be written in a Word document, be no more than 2,000 words, and must be emailed to info@painweek.org. The subject line should be “scholarship”.
• Applicant’s full name, email address, job title, and job description
• Name and address of the applicant’s practice setting
• A description of the practice setting, the patient population, and the applicant’s role in the organization
• A description of how PAINWeek can enhance pain management skills and knowledge, and how this knowledge can be used in a clinical setting
• A description of the barriers to pain management education/training that exist for the applicant
• Essays must address why a scholarship to PAINWeek would be a benefit
• Any other relevant points concerning the applicant’s educational and professional goals

Scholarship recipients must agree to:

• Have their essays published on painweek.org
• Be interviewed by PAINWeek staff upon request
• Attend the scholarship awards ceremony at PAINWeek on Wednesday, September 7

Deadline:

All essays must be received by midnight EST on Friday, August 18, 2017

Scholarship winners* will be selected by PAINWeek and notified via email and/or phone no later than August 21, 2017.

*Paid individuals who already registered for PAINWeek and subsequently designated as winners will have their full conference registration fees refunded. If you pre-paid for PAINWeek OnDemand, that fee is not included and will not be refunded should you win a scholarship.