Continuing Vacation - taxpayers subsidize continuing education

Washington Monthly, Nov, 1995 by Elizabeth Austin

While doctors and lawyers hit the slopes, you foot the bill

There's a kayaking trip off the Baja peninsula, scuba diving in sunny Palau, an exhilarating climb up Tanzania's Mount Kilimanjaro, whitewater rafting in Chile, even a dog-sledding adventure in Canada's Northwest Territories.

All of these exotic vacations have one thing in common: Every year, you, the taxpayers, pay for doctors to enjoy these trips and others like them. Most doctors are required to complete credits of continuing education (CE) to help them keep abreast of the latest changes in fast-moving modern medicine--and to keep their licenses. To encourage CE, the federal government allows doctors, as well as lawyers, dentists, and numerous other professionals, to deduct expenses--including travel, food, lodging, and entertainment--from their taxes.

And so they do, with gusto. As a result, by far the most popular sites for CE are out-of-state, almost always in places associated more with fun and frolic than with the pursuit of knowledge. The classes often bear only a tenuous link to the practice of medicine. The scuba diving expedition teaches the latest in "dive medicine" to landlocked obstetricians. The kayaking and the dog-sledding trip offer "wilderness medicine" to urban practitioners.

The CE mess began with noble intentions back in the sixties, when the public began to realize that knowledge becomes outdated very quickly. A number of well-meaning state legislatures began requiring licensed professionals to take CE courses. Doctors topped the list, but other professions soon had requirements as well. The result was a bonanza for professional associations, which can draw up CE guidelines, accredit presenters (who pay a fee for the privilege), and then charge participants for each course they attend. With thousands--sometimes millions--of dollars in revenues at stake, the professional associations have little incentive to weed out worthless programs. And all too often, they don't.

Now, mandatory CE is often just an excuse for a glorified (and subsidized) vacation. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) noted that only 27 percent of the physicians' CE hours were spent in their home communities, and 53 percent were spent out of state. In short, in the absence of careful scrutiny, continuing education for America's professionals has become not a tool for keeping vital skills sharp, but a profitable business opportunity. The American Society for Training and Development estimates the CE industry has grown to $10 billion annually, most of which is tax deductible.

There is no shortage of exotic education--nor of willing participants. The State Bar Association of Ohio, for example, demands that lawyers keep up to speed on the latest developments in the legal profession by enduring hours of CE classes. But these poor souls don't suffer through the legal implications of DNA testing in Youngstown or Dayton; far more often they're in Acapulco or Puerto Vallarta, and frequently they're barely suffering through classes at all. "If you have to spend three hours in class, why not spend the other 21 in the American Paradise?" asks the ad for a seminar held in St. Thomas for Ohio lawyers. Indeed, Ohio's bar associations are remarkably innovative when it comes to finding study sites, whether beaches or ski slopes, where most of us would not dream of cracking a book. One year the Columbus bar had to poll its members because there was a such a spirited contest between Snow Mass, Park City, and Vail as potential sites for the next round of study.

Don't think, however, that Ohio lawyers are the only pleasure-seekers. Everybody does it. Louisiana lawyers got 15 hours of continuing legal education credit, "including 1.2 hours of ethics credit," for a junket to the Hyatt Regency on Grand Cayman. The Texas Medical Association's dedicated search for sites conducive to learning discovered the Laurie River Lodge in northern Manitoba; members were assured that "you will experience full days of trophy fishing," and that "the education portion takes place in the evening after the fishing has been completed."

The Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) also found Caribbean islands conducive to learning--they held a seminar in Aruba. The announcement read: "Place yourself and your family on a large sand beach in Aruba. Enjoy heat in 85 degree sun and exposure to gentle February trade winds. Add pleasant company, casual summer clothing, PIA education seminars, shopping bargains, gambling facilities, fabulous food, and tennis courts. Shake well while you experience Aruba's night life. After drinking, deduct cost of ingredients on tax returns."

Then there's the American Association of Financial Professionals, which has used this subtle appeal: "This year take a vacation break that's also a tax break. Come to Los Angeles, Phoenix, Orlando, San Jose, Costa Rica; Panama City, Panama; Interlaken, Switzerland; or London, England with the American Association of Financial Professionals and you'll be able to write off the cost of your airfare on Eastern Airlines, your hotel bill and just about everything else but the suntan lotion. You'll also learn how to write off a lot more than your vacation. After all, you've given the IRS plenty over the years. Isn't it time they gave you something in return?"