Interested in serving as faculty for the VOC?
The VOC offers 48 AOA Category 1-A and AMA PRA Category 1 Credit ™ , available for purchase in 8-credit increments. The conference includes both live and on-demand options: attendees can complete credits during the live virtual event when speakers are present to answer questions, or they can complete credits on-demand at their leisure. The next VOC will have its live event February 14-16, 2025, with on-demand programs available after this date.
What have attendees said about the VOC?
“Wonderful speakers, and it was great that lectures were available to view after the online live conference date!”
“All of the lectures were viewable at a later date. Also, the presenters being online when their presentation was playing for a Q&A was great.”
“Excellent, knowledgeable speakers and diverse, useful subjects.”
“Accessibility, affordability, relevance. It is easy to put together a good conference about interesting topics, but this conference did an especially good job of presenting cutting-edge info that is relevant to everyday practice.”
“Excellent and pertinent topics, extremely easy to access, overall 10/10.”
98% of attendees have said they would recommend the VOC to a colleague.
In only three years, the VOC has had over 2,000 attendees from all over the US and Canada.
What is the VOC?
The VOC is a national osteopathic virtual continuing medical education (CME) program started in 2021 by the Missouri Association of Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons and the Osteopathic Physicians and Surgeons of Oregon. Offering 48 credits of both AOA and AMA accredited CME in a flexible format, the VOC has quickly gained popularity and recognition around the country with over 2,000 physicians from throughout the United States attending. The audience includes both DOs and MDs from a wide variety of specialties.
How does the VOC work?
The VOC program is entirely virtual with all educational sessions pre-recorded and available on our virtual learning platform. The official “live” VOC occurs over a three-day period in February. During this time, learners and faculty can interact via chat for an “almost live” educational experience. Faculty can interact during their presentation by asking probing questions and dialoguing with learners. Following the live programming, all sessions are available to learners for a substantial time for completion on-demand. During this time, learners can email their questions to faculty, but they can also view the chatted interactions from the live programming.
How do I become faculty for the VOC?
If you would like to earn national recognition as an expert in your field, consider applying to be part of the VOC faculty. The VOC planning committee consists of physicians who meet year-round identifying the educational needs of their peers, developing learning objectives, then identifying and working with faculty to meet those objectives. Interested faculty should submit a proposal. Priority will be given to proposals submitted before August 10. Proposals submitted after this date will likely be considered for a later VOC. Faculty selection is based on the ability to meet the stated objectives and on disclosed conflicts of interest (see below). Preference is given to proposals using unique and effective learning methods. All selected faculty must be available during the live virtual event to interact with learners during your scheduled presentation. The VOC planning committee will notify accepted faculty as they are approved. A member of our staff will work with you to record your presentation and help ensure quality audio and video. All programs must be original, may not have been used in another virtual program, and must be between 53 and 57 minutes in length.
What benefits do faculty receive?
Along with a $500 stipend per presentation, all VOC faculty receive free conference attendance. A Letter of Agreement and Disclosure is required, and deadlines must be met to receive these benefits. In addition, faculty will have exposure to physician learners across the United States, will have the ability to impact patient care nationwide, and can build a referral network.
What do you mean by “conflicts of interest” & ineligible companies?
To meet accreditation requirements of the Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education and the American Osteopathic Association, faculty must divulge all financial relationships they have had with any ineligible companies over the past 24 months. The VOC planning committee will review all disclosures to determine the eligibility of all potential faculty members. Ineligible companies are those whose primary business is producing, marketing, selling, reselling, or distributing health care products used by or on patients. There is no minimum financial threshold; you must disclose all financial relationships with ineligible companies regardless of the amount. Having a financial relationship includes any transaction in which you received payment from the ineligible company in any dollar amount at any time in the past 24 months. This includes but is not limited to being a researcher, consultant, advisor, speaker, independent contractor (including contracted research), royalties or patent beneficiary, executive role, and having an ownership interest. Individual stocks and stock options should be disclosed, but diversified mutual funds do not need to be disclosed.
If you are an employee or owner of an ineligible company, you can still participate as a speaker if one of the following exceptions is met:
- The content of the activity is not related to the business lines or products of their employer/company.
- The content of the accredited activity is limited to basic science research such as pre-clinical research and drug discovery or the methodologies of research, and they do not make care recommendations.
- The speaker participates as a technician to teach the safe and proper use of medical devices and does not recommend whether or when a device is used.