Making the Most of Your Professional Development Budget
Most Faculty Leave Money on the Table
Almost every academic physician I coach has some form of professional development funding. It might be a CME allowance, a department-level discretionary fund, or a formal faculty development budget. The dollar amounts vary, but the pattern is the same: most people either do not use it or spend it on autopilot.
That is a missed opportunity. Your PD budget is one of the few institutional resources that is explicitly yours. How you spend it should be intentional.
Stop Defaulting to the Same Conference
The most common use of PD funds I see is attending the same national specialty conference every year. There is nothing wrong with conferences. But if you have gone to the same meeting four years in a row and you are not presenting, not networking strategically, and not coming home with specific action items, it is worth asking whether that trip is still serving you.
Dorie Clark makes a strong case in The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World that the most valuable professional investments are the ones that compound over time. A conference can do that — but only if you approach it with a plan.
Think Beyond CME Credits
Your PD dollars can often fund things that have nothing to do with clinical continuing education. Depending on your institution's policies, that might include executive coaching, leadership training, writing workshops, online courses in data science or quality improvement, or even books and journal subscriptions.
I have worked with faculty who used their PD budget to attend a negotiation workshop before a contract renewal. Others have funded a writing retreat that jumpstarted a stalled manuscript. One physician used her allocation for a project management certification that transformed how she ran her research team.
These are not traditional CME activities. They are career accelerators.
A Simple Framework
Before you spend a dollar, ask three questions. Does this investment address a specific gap in my skills or knowledge? Does it align with where I want my career to be in three to five years? And is there a cheaper or free alternative that would accomplish the same thing?
If you can answer yes, yes, and no — spend with confidence.
Do Not Let It Expire
This is the simplest advice I can give. Find out your deadline, find out your balance, and make a plan before the fiscal year ends. Unused PD funds do not roll over at most institutions. They just disappear.
If you want help figuring out where your professional development dollars would have the most impact on your career trajectory, take a look around the Faculty Coaching blog or reach out directly. I am happy to think it through with you.
