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From the latest Podiatry Today:
Podiatry Seminar Content: Science Or Infomercials?

Full story

 

In a similar vein, I have just come across this commentary:
Advertisement or Article? Education or Editorial?

Link to full article

 

I am so freakin proud to e a podiatrist sometimes. - Seth Stinehour August 2011

made me chuckle a little Dr Moore fits a few of the folks promoting there wears, nice piece Seth

 

In all my observations, this is pretty much a problem that is unique to Podiatry in the USA; its not a problem in the rest of the world.

 

I don't know Craig, I've been to a few seminars which are run by companies selling their wears with a pretty heavy sales message attached. Take that conference in Bath last year. "It's not about selling our products" we were told several times- really? That's why we had a lecture within it on why their scanner was best etc, etc. That's why several of the sessions were basically thinnly disguised testimonials for their products from existing customers (how many of the speakers were not existing customers?), that's why the week after I got a phone call from them to see if I was interested in buying their products as a "follow-up" to the conference. They are not alone, this is just one example. You go to a conference/ training event run by a company, you know they're going to be pushing their products somewhere within it- it's just the way it is.

 

My experience of the UK is that those seminars run by the companies are generally quite explicit, whereas in the USA its much more pervasive (as the article by Seth alludes to). You get speakers paid to present at conferences by the conference organizers and they are also being paid by the company.

 

Here is the pdf of the article and the reference for those that are interested.

Kirby KA: Podiatry seminar content: science or infomercials? Podiatry Today, 24:(8)82, 2011.