ACCME Announces Inaugural Pinnacle Award Winners Honoring Mentorship, Leadership, and Impact in CME
Kristin Jensen, MD CME Mentor of the Year
Kurt Snyder, JD, MBA CME Administrator of the Year
SAGES ADOPT CME Impact of the Year
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) is proud to announce the recipients of its inaugural Pinnacle Awards, a new recognition program created to celebrate the exceptional individuals and organizations shaping the future of accredited continuing medical education (CME). Selected by ACCME’s Board of Directors from an outstanding pool of nominations, this year’s honorees exemplify excellence, innovation, and meaningful impact across the CME community.
NEWS
Upcoming Change: ABTS to Retire Self-Reporting of CME Credit by Diplomates
The American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS) has announced an upcoming change in how Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit is recognized for ABTS Continuing Certification (CC) requirements.
Effective December 31, 2027, ABTS will retire self-reporting of CME credit by diplomates. This means that for an ABTS surgeon to have their CME credit count toward their ABTS Continuing Certification (CC) requirements, CME credit must be reported directly by the accredited provider through PARS (or JA-PARS, as applicable) beginning January 1, 2028.
EDUCATION & RESOURCES
Register for Learn to Thrive
May 6–8, 2026
Hyatt Regency Chicago Hotel
Learn to Thrive 2026 will bring together the continuing education community for three days of insight, innovation, and connection. This is designed to help you grow as a continuing education (CE) professional and amplify your organization’s impact.
In our opening keynote on Wednesday, May 6, Alex Thomas, MD, and Gary Ashwal, MA, of Booster Shot Media introduce Graphic Medicine, an innovative, evidence-based approach that uses visual storytelling to make learning more engaging, empathetic, and effective.
On Day Two, Harjiv Singh, PhD, Senior Performance and Development Scientist with the Charlotte Hornets and Adjunct Assistant Professor in the School of Kinesiology at the University of Michigan, draws on lessons from his work with high-performance athletes to challenge how we think about healthcare education. In elite teams, learning is built into daily work.
Save-the-Date: 2026 ACCME Accreditation Workshop
August 25-26
Westin Chicago River North Hotel
Join your colleagues for the ACCME Accreditation Workshop. This is an essential professional development opportunity for those who are new to accredited continuing medical education (CME). Together we will explore the ACCME’s requirements and expectations for accreditation as well as how accredited CE can be a strategic tool for healthcare improvement.
Help Faculty Understand Why Disclosure Matters
As you begin planning your 2026 educational activities, it’s a great time to remind faculty and planners why disclosure of financial relationships is essential to maintaining trust in accredited CE.
Last year, we introduced a brief video, “Your Essential Role in Maintaining Trust in Accredited CE,” designed to help faculty, speakers, authors, and reviewers understand the purpose and importance of disclosure.
We encourage you to revisit this resource and share it with anyone who controls educational content within your activities. It’s a quick, clear tool to support consistency and transparency in your planning process. Access the video and tips for sharing it on our website.
ABMS Conference 2026 Call for Sessions, Posters Now Open
Deadline is Monday, March 9, 2026, at 11:59 pm (ET) for poster and presentation abstract submissions for the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) Conference 2026. The Conference will be held Sept.16-18 at the Loews O’Hare Hotel in Rosemont, IL. The complete list of conference priorities and submission instructions are available on the ABMS Conference 2026 website.
For questions or additional information, please email callforsessions@abms.org.
Celebrate SACME at 50!
The Society of Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME) will mark a major milestone at its 2026 Annual Meeting, celebrating 50 years of leadership, scholarship, and collaboration. The anniversary meeting takes place March 22–25, 2026, in Lexington, KY, with options to attend in person or online. The program will feature hands-on workshops, plenary sessions, and poster presentations as the SACME community reflects on its past and looks ahead to the future.
REMINDERS
Complete Your Annual Reporting in PARS
By March 31, 2026, all accredited providers must complete their annual reporting requirements in ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). Complete the following steps by March 31, 2026:
Accept the terms of the 2026 ACCME Annual Agreement.
Enter your 2025 activities (be sure to “close” all activities that ended in 2025!)
Complete and submit your 2025 Program Summary.
Review and update your contact information.
Attention providers who offer enduring material activities – You must update the total cumulative learner counts as of at least December 31, 2025 for each of your enduring material activities. Be sure to report the total number who have completed since the activity start date, not just those who completed in 2025.
Please note: providers accredited by a state medical society may be required to complete their annual reporting requirements earlier and should check with their Recognized Accreditor for more information. Explore our Annual Reporting page for more resources.
Today’s Annual Reporting Office Hours
Join today’s virtual Zoom office hours: Thursday, February 26, 2026 from 1:00 – 2:00 p.m. CT. Learn more about the reporting requirements, navigating PARS, and completing your data entry. Slides from the session will be available on the Annual Reporting page after the event for those unable to attend.
CAREERS
The ACCME has an opening for a full-time Solution Architect. Visit our Careers page for the full job posting.
RECOGNITION
Celebrating Our Innovation Partners!
We’re proud to recognize the organizations that are partnering with ACCME to advance our shared mission to reduce administrative burdens and support meaningful, lifelong learning for physicians. As Innovation Partners, these providers are leading efforts to simplify learner data reporting, enhance the learner experience, and promote the use of CME Passport.
Each Innovation Partner brings a unique perspective and commitment to advancing high-quality, learner-centered education. In this issue, we’re spotlighting the following Innovation Partners who share how their participation benefits their physician learners:
Thomas Jefferson University Office of Continuing Professional Development: “Our physician learners will be able to expand their access to accredited continuing education and experience the ease of having their credits housed in a central repository portal, regardless of where they received their education.”
University of Michigan Medical School: “Joining the ACCME Innovation Partner Program will ease the administrative burden on physician learners by expediting the credit reporting process for licensure and MOC. Activities will be available in CME Passport, enhancing equitable access to accredited outcomes-driven CME.”
University of Pittsburgh: “Physicians will benefit by enabling licensing bodies to verify credits efficiently, thereby saving the physician valuable time. Physicians will have the ability to track, view, and download all CME credits from any accredited provider on one platform.”
University of Wisconsin-Madison Interprofessional Continuing Education Partnership (ICEP): “The UW-Madison ICEP provides accredited IPE designed to improve the skills, strategies, and performance of healthcare teams, leading to better patient outcomes and healthier communities. ICEP promotes team-based learning through active learning and ongoing quality improvement.”
UpToDate, Inc.: “Trusted for over 30 years, UpToDate® is the clinical decision support resource providing medical professionals worldwide with the latest evidence-based information. UpToDate is dedicated to meeting the rapidly evolving needs of healthcare providers and supporting the complex care decisions.”
Vanderbilt University Medical Center: “The Office of Continuous Professional Development (OCPD) accredits over 525 annual education activities for Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Partnering strategically, OCPD employs adult learning methods and innovation to enhance continuing education for healthcare professionals.”
Yale University: “As an ACCME Innovation Partner, we will help advance a national system for seamless credit reporting, streamlining CME credits for physicians. This reduces administrative burdens, improves clinical practice focus, and fosters knowledge exchange and continuous improvement with leading CME providers.”
