William T. Grant, MD

Charlottesville, Virginia

My introduction to Chris Brigham, MD  was facilitated by the desire to identify a comprehensive training site to understand better and apply the methodologies of the AMA Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment. I am an Orthopedic Surgeon in Charlottesville, Virginia, who practiced privately for 32 years. Medical-Legal consulting services have been a consistent complement to my clinical practice. After retiring from patient care in 2022, I devoted my professional interests entirely to consulting and providing independent medical evaluations. Impairment analysis is frequently essential to case reviews and independent medical evaluations. Many excellent clinicians have yet to have the opportunity for formal training with the AMA Guides. Still, they are asked to provide impairment ratings for their patients or a patient sent to them. However, without training, it is nearly impossible to master the AMA Guides.

I identified Dr. Brigham's online educational sites and have benefited from his step-by-step teaching approach and monthly live video training sessions. www.6thedition.com provides many valuable resources; www.emedicolegal.com takes the learning experiences to a different level. The presentations are excellent, and the extensive hyperlinked resources, case exercises, and quizzes enhance the learning experience. The enrollment fee is substantially less than the typical fee for performing a single evaluation; therefore, there is a strong return on investment. As the Senior Contributing Editor to the AMA Guides over the past three decades, Editor of the AMA Guides Newsletter, and his strong background in information technology, Dr. Brigham occupies a unique space to educate on this topic. Mentorship with Dr. Brigham has greatly benefited me, facilitating the continued application of my professional background beyond traditional medical practice. I highly recommend AMA Guides, Sixth Edition – Mastery! 

Jerald D. Kelly, DC

Longview, Texas

Hello, my name is Jerald Kelly, DC, and I am taking Dr. Brigham's AMA Guides, Sixth Edition Mastery Course on impairment ratings.  I was a Designated Doctor for the State of Texas in the Workers Compensation Division. I decided to start doing impairment ratings again. Texas uses the Fourth Edition; however, I also wanted to learn how to use the most current Sixth Edition for evaluating cases outside the state workers; compensation system. I was set up to train with another company in Dallas, TX.  The issue for me was that I would incur the expenses of travel, lodging, and meals for two days.

I was looking online and found Dr. Brigham's online Mastery Course. I liked the idea of doing the course online and that I did not have to travel.  I also liked going at my pace instead of cramming all the material in a two-day seminar.  That may be good for some people; however, taking time to go through the course at my own pace has been a wonderful experience.

I also liked that Dr. Brigham is teaching the course; he is the Senior Contributing Editor for the AMA Guides, has been doing it for over 35 years, and has an insane amount of experience performing several thousands of ratings.  In addition, after you pass a four-hour exam, you earn a Certified Impairment Rater (CIR) certification, which I believe establishes you as an expert in and out of the courtroom.

The online Mastery Course itself is fantastic.  As I said, I can take the course at my own pace.  The course is professional and is broken up into many modules. The modules are further broken down into chapters from the Guide, which are slide presentations and can vary from a few minutes to an hour. You can download the modules onto your computer or watch with an app on your iPhone or iPad. You can click the hyperlinks at the bottom for additional videos in each module. Other hyperlinks take you to the AMA Guides and the AMA Guides Newsletter for more clarification of the material.  For instance, one of the hyperlinks can go to an article that explains the most common mistakes in rating a particular condition which is invaluable information. The AMA Guides is an intense read. However, Dr. Brigham has a great way of summarizing key points you need to know, which is amazing.  So when you refer to the Guides, you will understand the material well and what requires your focus.  

You do need to read the AMA Guides, of course. I suggest you review the Guides' examples that demonstrate the rating process. I have the All Access digital version, which is nice since you can access the AMA Guides Newsletter archive and stay current. I found the AMA's site a bit tricky to use at first, but when you get used to it, you find it helpful.

The last point I like to make is that the course is priced well.  Other weekend programs charge $1500 to $2,000 for fewer hours of training than you will receive with AMA Guides, Sixth Edition – Mastery!  That does not include the additional travel costs, as I mentioned earlier.

In summary, the Mastery Course is excellent. If you are a person like me who wants to know how to do impairments, take the course at your own pace, and pay a reasonable price to get started, this is for you.