Vendor Support for Off-Campus Educational Events

Faculty and staff with special expertise may be invited to give lectures or otherwise participate in conferences and seminars in a variety of venues outside Mount Sinai, including: other academic institutions; professional conferences; international symposia; expert training in device use or new technologies; and presentations to lay audiences. The Department Chair will have overall responsibility for monitoring the frequency and nature of faculty and staff participation in these off-campus activities. In all cases, speakers must be aware of and abide by institutional policies on Use of Mount Sinai Name.

If off-campus events are sponsored by industry, employees and trainees are encouraged to participate only when Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit is offered. For events that fall outside the realm of CME, following are guidelines for participation:

Discretion must be employed in determining whether to attend, based on whether the event has a legitimate educational value. For example, industry sponsors often organize their own conferences and invite faculty or trainees to attend; it is incumbent upon the invitee and his/her Chair to determine whether it is truly a learning event or is designed primarily to influence participants to favor the vendor's products. The setting for and cost of the event should be appropriate to its purpose.

Faculty who receive compensation for participating in off-campus events outside the scope of CME will be subject to the MSSM Policy on Financial Arrangements With Extramural Entities, and must submit written agreements for approval by the Department Chair prior to participation. Faculty must also adhere to CME guidelines concerning disclosure. For engagements involving expert training, the individual must also abide by the guidelines of the relevant professional organizations.

Mount Sinai faculty, staff and trainees may not accept scholarships or other special funding directly from a vendor. Vendors may make donations a general departmental education fund; the department will use its own criteria to select trainees to receive support for participation in educational events. Under no circumstances can a trainee be paid by a commercial sponsor to attend an educational event.