Our Clinical Fellowship is a revolutionary training program for physicians and their staff who are interested in beginning or in growing their practice of cannabis-based medicine within the state of Florida.
Since it’s beginning mid-October 2017, the Compassionate Cannabis Clinic’s Clinical Fellowship has hosted clinicians from Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, West Palm Beach, St. Augustine, Jacksonville, and Miami.
A Fellowship allows practitioners to learn a functional understanding of the specialized nature of the systems, protocols, procedures, and regulations associated with recommending cannabis to patients within Florida’s complex system.
Each Clinical Fellowship opportunity is offered Monday thru Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. The morning begins with an hour-long welcome presentation hosted by Chief Medical Officer Dr. Barry Gordon and Chief Operating Officer Ruta Jouniari. This presentation covers the use of cannabis medicinally throughout history, the beginnings of prohibition, practitioner requirements within Florida’s statutes and regulations, and an overview of our clinical procedure.
Fellows will then escort Dr. Gordon as he makes his clinical rounds. Since we are averaging 140 appointments per week, clinicians see a wide array of patients with varying disabilities. Fellows are encouraged to take notes, engage patients, and observe exactly what a medical cannabis certification encounter contains.
Attendees will also receive a two hour one-on-one consultation with our Chief Operating Officer and Clinical Office Manager who will better educate on our standard of care and the intricacies of practical administration, regulatory compliance, and effective marketing techniques.
The Clinical Fellowship program is a unique “residency” type opportunity that is very fast paced and contains a trove of proprietary information you may integrate into your own practice that will help you obtain and retain patients more successfully in this rapidly growing field of care within Florida.
In addition to the practical view of our practice, each Fellow will receive:
Our Fellows are invited to a bi-monthly hour-long brainstorming conference call so they may collaborate with other practitioners within Florida who are actively practicing cannabis medicine while utilizing the knowledge learned from our Fellowship Program.
Dr. Gordon and Ms. Jouniari are always available and responsive to questions that may arise during daily practice, and our Fellows have become a cohesive group of clinicians working together toward a better standard of care for those suffering from debilitating illness in Florida’s nascent medical marijuana program.
Recognized as pioneers and leaders in the fight for medical cannabis within the state of Florida, the Compassionate Cannabis Clinic began operations on January 3, 2017 – the date Amendment 2 officially became Article X, Section 29 of the Florida state constitution.
We have treated over 2,600 patients in our sole-practitioner facility, and Dr. Gordon currently has 1,900 active orders in the Medical Marijuana Use Registry. Our average patient age is 55.46 years old, and 70 percent of our new patients come as referrals from other doctors in and around Sarasota county who feel cannabis would be of benefit to their patients but are not authorized to recommend.
By building both robust clinical and educational protocols, our clinic has garnered a 91.3 percent patient satisfaction rating by our patient base and our patient loss rate is considerably lower than those found in general practices of medicine within the state of Florida.
Our three tenets of deliberate practice guide us – patient care, education, and advocacy. From the beginning of our organization, we’ve been vocal in advocating for our patients right to safe access to cannabis. The protocols created within our practice have become a standard of practice for dozens of clinics statewide, and our procedures have been studied and used by the Board of Medicine and Board of Osteopathic Medicine to promulgate rules under the authority granted to them statutorily.
To participate within our Clinical Fellowship program, participants must have an active and unrestricted medical license within the state of Florida. Each Fellow is encouraged to bring one staff member, generally an office manager or administrator, to maximize their time spent with us.
Because of the busy nature of our practice, we have a strict limit of four Fellowship opportunities per month. The cost per practitioner is $3000, and payment must be made in full (via credit or debit card) in order to schedule the Fellowship. One non-physician employee is allowed to participate with the Fellow, and additional employees may be added for $500 each if necessary.
If you’d like more information or would like to secure a date, please call COO Ruta Jouniari at (941) 586-2426.
Once payment has been received, you will be sent an email that will allow you access to our educational webinars as well as a link to the registration forms required for our Fellows.
We understand that physician’s are busy and taking an entire day away from your current practice may be difficult. We will work with you to select a date that will fit your current schedule.
While no CME credit is currently offered, our Fellowships can be considered a business expense which may be used as tax exemptions for your organization.