The Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine (AAIM) wanted to diversify it’s revenue. Previously they had relied heavily on member dues and annual conference ticket sales. The number of possible members and the amount they could charge in dues, however, were limited. Similarly, betting on income from an in-person conference that occurred just once per year was risky, especially in the era of COVID.
Events & LMS Management
Sample: Foundations of Academic Internal Medicine
Goal: Diversify Income
Agenda for Original One-Day Bootcamp
Task: Create Paid Virtual Education Offering
Because physician members were well represented at the conference and free online webinars, we decided together to focus on a less engaged group: administrators. These administrators accounted for only a small fraction of conference attendees. Nevertheless, their importance to the smooth running of academic internal medicine departments made them a prime audience for structured educational and networking opportunities. We decided to take the topics from existing one-day “boot camps” for administrators and spread them over a thirteen-week online experience.
Action: Re-Purpose and Re-Package
I worked with a course director and a small committee of seasoned education administrators to create worksheets, quizzes, and small group discussion questions based on texts that outlined the main tasks and tools of administrators. We made these materials available on the course website for asynchronous study. In a “flipped-classroom” style, we then produced four virtual events that allowed participants to hear from experienced colleagues, review the main takeaways from assigned texts, and network with one another.
Curriculum for Education Administrator’s Course
Home Page for Education Administrator’s Course
Results: More of the Same, Please!
Interest in the course far exceeded AAIM’s predictions: the initial course cap of 50 participants was raised to 80 due to demand. This annual thirteen-week course has now taken place three times with a fourth iteration in the planning. Several of the current committee members who work with me to prepare the course are former participants who found it so helpful that they wanted to pass on the help to future cohorts. In addition, AAIM has created (with my help) and draws revenue from virtual courses for academic department and division administrators as well as physicians interested in the business of medicine.