thanks. it worked, but you still have to click somewhere on the subform for it to go to the last record. it's almost the same as clicking on the "go to last record" button, so it doesn't really save a step.
I tried to set the focus on a field on the subform after clicking the tab on which the subform resides.
form: frmReferral
subform: sfrmPlacement
control on sfrmPlacement: PlacementMove
here is what i placed in the "On Click" property of the tab control: