|
Post by Orly on Aug 3, 2009 18:48:24 GMT -5
Day 1 -
Hearty breakfast and black SUVs outside the hotel. Wonder who's staying here this time?
Deputy Chief ALJ Griswald gave a very positive speech. Highlights:
ODAR currently at approx. 1300 ALJs, plan to grow to 1600 ALJs when it's all done.
Hiring up to 50 some ALJs in October.
Plan on hiring another 150-250 next Spring.
Large influx of claims.
Rest of the day was uneventful. Decent social hour after class. Very diverse class with a good mix of insiders and outsiders.
|
|
|
Post by Legal Beagle on Aug 3, 2009 19:08:49 GMT -5
Great job Orly - carry on the tradition! I expect it is Petraeus - he was in more than out last month.
LB
|
|
|
Post by happyalj on Aug 3, 2009 19:44:36 GMT -5
Orly's comment about the day being uneventful is an understatement. I was pretty disappointed in the presentations overall. Having attended and spoken at numerous seminars, I was surprised at the poor showing. I'm hopeful the upcoming speakers will be more interesting.
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 4, 2009 16:35:10 GMT -5
Day 2 - Overview of five step process and we actually gone through step one, SGA. Much more productive than Day One and felt like I learned something new today.
|
|
|
Post by darious on Aug 4, 2009 18:40:33 GMT -5
Orly & Happy ALJ: We are trying to find forum members in our August Class. RobG suggested a trip to the Spy Museum on Sat morning. Send me a pm so I can let you know who I am. I am in the Stripes classroom.
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 5, 2009 17:01:07 GMT -5
Day 3 Deputy Commissioner Foster was the keynote speaker of the day. He came across as a very intelligent and humorous guy, and he definitely has a plan to improve the process and whittle the backlog down to capacity by 2013. Whether this master plan succeeds or not remains to be seen, but it is definitely a worthwhile goal and I hope we can pull it off. The rest of the day was taken up by Step 2 and 3 and a large medical lecture on neurology. Must be a lot to absorb for those without prior Med-legal experience. Overall, the training process is getting more engaging. Hopefully the trend continues.
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 6, 2009 15:59:51 GMT -5
Day 4 - Three 2-hour medical lectures on immune, resp, and cardio systems by MDs is definitely a lot to absorb, especially when one of the lecturers talked 2 hours+ straight. My rear is still sore.
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 7, 2009 20:25:08 GMT -5
Day 5 Yay for weekend. Mental impairment lessons all day was enough to make me go mental. Glad it's over and I have some time to recharge my batteries. See ya all next week!
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 10, 2009 16:09:32 GMT -5
Day 6, A new set of instructors. The ones in my section are very dynamic and motivated, which kept things quite lively throughout the day. The subject matter of RFC and weight of medical opinions are very relevant to the 5 step process and kept most of us very engaged. All in all, a very productive day. Although all this learning is making me hungry again . . .
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 11, 2009 15:58:21 GMT -5
Day 7 Gotta say today was even more entertaining than yesterday. We finally got to draft a part of a decision based on materials we reviewed previously, and it's good to know I still can whip out a coherent work product in a short amount of time. The instructors are still dynamic and very engaging, and they are definitely setting a high bar for the incoming instructors on week 3 and 4. The third variant of the sample decison they gave us at 4:15 pm was priceless. It made the whole day worthwhile. Wonder what interesting things are going to happen tomorrow?
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 12, 2009 16:44:07 GMT -5
Day 8 Finished Steps 4 & 5, and went over the basic use of FITS as well as DOT/SOC. Definitely a busy day. The subjects were quite dry, and even the best instructors would be hard pressed to make these very technical subjects exciting. However, the ones in my section did do their best to keep us engaged. Kudos.
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 13, 2009 16:48:35 GMT -5
Day 9 - Network was down for a good hour this morning, and what a drag. But it did give us a taste of what the training was like before we had a computer for everyone. Thank God for modern technology. As for the rest of the day, Grids, VEs and RFC hypos. Several more building blocks into the adjudicatory framework. Things are speeding up and I continue to be impressed by the quality and the level of engagement presented by my section mates and the instructors. Tomorrow will be the half way point of our training, and I'm really looking forward to it. ;D
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 15, 2009 4:39:26 GMT -5
Day 10 - Second week is done. Training on FITS in the morning and we had a presentation from OGC in the afternoon. The first part of the OGC presentation about how to avoid remands was great. But the "group exercise" part failed because you can't do a group exercise with 20 people per group. Probably should just stick to the exercise and presentation and skip the "group" part in the future. Hurray for the weekend. See you all next week.
|
|
|
Post by ssaer on Aug 16, 2009 17:35:17 GMT -5
One suggestion to SSA management for future classes: it would be helpful to have had an SSA relocation person on-site and available one day, perhaps after class and in the hotel, to address the questions that many of us have about reimbursements, relocation procedures, vouchers, etc. The stresses and details of reorienting one's life and moving a family are legion, particularly when the transition must be accomplished in very little time, and any professional assistance that we can get would be most appreciated.
|
|
|
Post by northwest on Aug 16, 2009 19:46:14 GMT -5
One suggestion to SSA management for future classes: it would be helpful to have had an SSA relocation person on-site and available one day, perhaps after class and in the hotel, to address the questions that many of us have about reimbursements, relocation procedures, vouchers, etc. The stresses and details of reorienting one's life and moving a family are legion, particularly when the transition must be accomplished in very little time, and any professional assistance that we can get would be most appreciated. Our class had a relocation/travel Q&A during one of the lunch periods because we requested it. They did it on the 16th floor. So you should ask your instructors or one of the staff people involved in training about doing this for you. Sorry, I can't remember the name of the man who did the Q&A.
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 17, 2009 16:50:44 GMT -5
Day 11 - Yay, past the half way point. Got some practical exercises today and it was reassuring to know I actually remember what I learned for the last two weeks. New batch of instructors seem very nice. Although my rear is still complaining about sitting most of the day. Can't wait to start at the hearing office for real, I think I have a RFC for sedentary with standing and sitting at will, and I haven't been getting the standing and sitting at will part for the past two weeks.
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 18, 2009 20:11:09 GMT -5
Day 12 - Some more practicals and a medical lecture on skeletal muscular system. Slogging through the day was tough, but hey, only a week and half left until we graduate.
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 19, 2009 16:10:21 GMT -5
Day 13 - Lecture on reopening, res judicata, and some more practical exercises. Nothing too exciting other than the morning bus had a really colorfully decorated interior.
|
|
|
Post by Legal Beagle on Aug 19, 2009 18:02:24 GMT -5
You must have been on the PARTY BUS!!!
|
|
|
Post by Orly on Aug 20, 2009 16:35:42 GMT -5
Day 14 -
Highlight of the day was the speech from the Federal District Court Judge on judicial demeanor and the need to avoid black robe fever. Very well said and I hope we all took it to heart.
But the rest of the day really dragged on. Lesson on child SSI is important but could probably have been presented better. Friday can't come quickly enough.
|
|