April 2025: Ms. Schwarz will lead a session entitled, “Your Path to Scholarly Success: Strategies for Research and Publication for JA & ACCME Commendation Criteria” on April 25, 2025 during the ACCME Learn to Thrive Annual Meeting. The session provides a step-by-step framework for turning ideas into impactful research and highlights publication opportunities for CE professionals. By the end, participants will be equipped with the tools and motivation to engage in meaningful scholarship and make lasting contributions to CE.
Your CME Program and the C-Suite
Hitting Overall Program Targets with the C-Suite and Other Stakeholders Presentation
Ms. Schwarz will join three other prestigious faculty members on Saturday, January 28th in San Francisco during the Alliance Annual Conference to discuss ways in which we can show our value to our internal stakeholders and collaborate with the C-Suite to influence organizational goals.
This interactive session will include self-reflection about your overall Mission Statement, case study examples of successful C-Suite interactions, and additional discussion of strategies to implement changes in your own organization.
Ms. Schwarz will focus on strategies to draw out critical analysis from your content experts when reviewing overall program data. She will also discuss best practices for using existing data to define goals.
Dr. Erik Brady, PhD, CHCP, Principal Consultant, EDBPhD Consulting, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, will lead the session. The panel will also include Jacqueline Steltz-Lenarsky, MA, Manager, Continuing Medical Education, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, California and Nicholas Testa, MD, Chief Medical Oficer, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, California.
Please join us 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM in the Yerba Buena 1-3 Room.
For more information about the Alliance 2017 Annual Conference, please visit:Â http://www.acehp.org/p/cm/ld/fid=22
SCMEC “Compliant or Not?” Webinar
Ms. Schwarz presents during “Compliant or Not” Webinar
Ms. Schwarz served as faculty on the first Southern California Medical Education Council (SCMEC) webinar, presented June 14, 2016 and archived on the website (see below). The interactive scenarios may stimulate your own questions. Please contact Vivacity to discuss further!
http://www.scmec.org/conferences/quarterly-meetings/2016-webinar/
Overall Program Review – Spring 2016 CMEPalooza
Overall Program Review Panel during Spring 2016 CMEPalooza
Many providers struggle when it comes time for reaccreditation with Criterion 12 and 13 (overall program review). Vivacity Consulting recently participated in a panel presentation covering this topic during Spring 2016 CMEPalooza, the free CPD event for CME and CE professionals. The archive is available online now: https://cmepalooza.com/spring-2016/no-hail-marys-required-novel-ways-to-use-data-for-continual-program-assessment/
Panel Description: You’ve heard plenty about activity assessment. We get it, you’ve heard enough about how to assess your activities, and maybe even your curricula, but this session is about program assessment. How do you assess your CE program overall? How do you set yourself up for compliance with Criterion 12? How do you couple that analysis to Criterion 13 and to your Mission statement? Most importantly, how do you assure that you are on target with your overall program? We’ve some ideas on how to set yourself up for ongoing program assessment.Â
Panelists
Erik D. Brady, PhD, CHCP, Principal Consultant, EDBPhD Consulting; Director of Graduate Education Programs, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Erin Schwarz, CEO/Principal Consultant, Vivacity Consulting
Jacqueline Steltz-Lenarsky, M.A., Manager of Continuing Medical Education, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center
If your organization is up for reaccreditation or if you are interested in improving the impact of your CME program now, performing an overall program review is a vital first step. Providers often discover both strengths and weaknesses they were not aware of during this process. Vivacity Consulting is available to guide you through this process and facilitate the discussion with your stakeholders. Please Contact us.
Vivacity Consulting Invited to Present at 2016 ACEhp Conference
Vivacity Consulting will Present during the Alliance for CE in the Health Professions 2016 Conference
Ms. Schwarz will lead two sessions at the ACEhp Conference, to be held Jan 13 – 16, 2016 at the Gaylord National, National Harbor, Maryland (near Washington DC).
Shades of Gray: Drawing the Line on Employees of Commercial Interests
Thursday, January 14, 10:30 AM – 11:30 AM
Primary Presenter:
Erin Schwarz, CEO/Principal Consultant, Vivacity Consulting, LLC, Foothill Ranch, California
Co-Presenter(s):
Jacqueline Steltz-Lenarsky, MA, Manager, Continuing Medical Education, Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center, Burbank, California
Anne Grupe, MSEd, Director, CME, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Alexandria, Virginia
Session Description
As the healthcare landscape gets more complex, many organizations are finding that they must to react to situations instead of being prepared proactively. This applies particularly to the issues relating to the use of employees of commercial interests.
During this session, we will outline four elements that must be involved when considering
- What do the rules say (and not say)?
- What are your audience needs?
- How do you make a decision as interpreter of these rules? What is your policy?
- How do you reassess your policy so it is a living document?
Throughout the presentation we will give examples from our own experiences. Attendees will gain new ideas and strategies that they might implement into their own practice as they guide their own programs to compliant, impactful education.
My Crummy Story: How I Got Out of a Bad Situation and How You Can Too
Friday, January 15, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Primary Presenter:
Erin Schwarz, CEO/Principal Consultant, Vivacity Consulting, LLC, Foothill Ranch, California
Co-Presenter(s):
Philip A. Dombrowski, MBA, FACEHP, President, PD Associates, Bomoseen, Vermont
Art Arellano, Professional Education Manager, American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists (AAGL)
Session Description
Have you every found yourself in a crummy situation and wished you had a fairy godmother that could get you out of it? The ACEhp can be the source of multiple fairy godmothers (and godfathers). In this session, three experienced CE professionals will present on some difficult cases they have faced relating to compliance, leadership and faculty, and how they were able to resolve the situation in part due to advice from their network and mentors. Audience members will share their own crummy stories and successes with each other in round tables, with the expectation that they can serve as resources for each other and help each other find solutions to pressing problems. At the conclusion of this activity, we expect that attendees will leave with an expanded contact list of other CE professionals to whom they can turn when faced with challenging or concerning situations in the future.
Vivacity Consulting Invited to Present at 2015 ACEHP
Ms. Schwarz to Present at the 2015 ACEhp Meeting
Ms. Schwarz has been invited to present two times at the ACEhp (Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions) Conference in Grapevine, Texas, January 14 – 17, 2015.
Ms. Schwarz will participate as part of a panel entitled, “Mapping Success for the Learner, the Supporter, and the Organization” on Thursday, January 15th at 1:15 pm with the following co-presenters:
Content Development
Kristen Flemming, Manager, Self-Assessment and CME Publications, Endocrine Society
Erin Schwarz, CEO, Vivacity Consulting
Faculty Management
Claire MacDonald, Associate Director, Clinical Education, Endocrine Society
Pam Beaton, BS, CCMEP, Manager, Educational Accreditation and Certification, American College of Chest Physicians
Outcomes Reporting
Dennis R. Harris, PhD, Manager, Educational Research and Outcomes, Endocrine Society
Erik Brady, PhD, CCMEP, Director of Analytics, Reporting and Outcomes, Clinical Care Options, LLC
Program Assessment
Tonya McFadden, Manager, CME Accreditation and Practice Improvement, Endocrine Society
Derek Dietze, MA, FACEHP, CCMEP, Improve CME, LLC
In addition, Ms. Schwarz will present an abstract during the Research Abstract Cluster #2 entitled, “A Comprehensive Process for Identifying and Managing Conflicts of Interest Reduced Perceived Bias at a Specialty Society Annual Meeting.” This presentation will take place on Friday, January 16th at 9:45 am.
Please contact Ms. Schwarz for more information about these presentations.