News

REGISTER FOR IN-PERSON PARTICIPATION AT THE ACCME 2022 MEETING BY APRIL 8   

The deadline for in-person registration for the ACCME 2022 Meeting is just two weeks away! Be sure to register by 5:00 pm CT on Friday, April 8, if you are planning to join us in Chicago for the meeting. Registration for virtual participation will remain open until 5:00 pm CT on Friday, April 22. Register here. 

Interested in learning more about how to report your learners’ CME credit in ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS), as well as promote your activities on CME Passport? We are offering two opportunities at the ACCME 2022 Meeting to learn more about how improved learner reporting in PARS and search tools like CME Passport can help enhance your learners’ educational journey:

• Learner Reporting Lunch and Learn Sessions: ACCME’s Data Services team will be hosting demonstrations on how to register activities for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) in PARS and reporting learner credit for CME and MOC. Bring your lunch on Tuesday, April 26, or Wednesday, April 27, from 1:00–1:45 pm CT, and learn how to register activities and report learners in PARS. 
• Learner Data Central Kiosk: Stop by the Learner Data Central kiosk on Tuesday, April 26, and Wednesday, April 27, from 3:15–5:30 pm CT, where our data services team will be on hand to answer your questions about PARS. Our team will be available to discuss learning reporting in PARS, offer demonstrations of PARS and CME Passport, and more.

Reminders for Accredited Providers 

COMPLETE YOUR YEAR-END REPORTING IN PARS BY MARCH 31 

Thank you to those who have already completed your year-end reporting requirement! If you have not yet completed your year-end reporting requirement, you must do so by March 31, 2022, in the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS).  

What do I have to report by March 31, 2022?

The process for year-end reporting has been simplified with the removal of the field for reporting year. To fulfill your year-end reporting responsibility, there are five steps to complete:

1. Accept the terms for the ACCME annual agreement, located on the dashboard in PARS under Agreement Page. Each year, all accredited providers are asked to accept the annual agreement regarding data submission and compliance with ACCME policies and procedures.
2. Enter all activities that occurred in 2021 and close any that are no longer being offered.
3. For any enduring materials that are continuing into 2022, update the total learner counts as of December 31, 2021. Note that you no longer need to enter enduring material activities for each year they are provided. Enduring materials should remain open until the end date. Once you have entered the enduring material once, you will only need to update learner counts each year thereafter.
4. Complete and submit your program summary. The link to the program summary is located on the dashboard in PARS.
5. Review and update your contact information. You can do this by clicking Back to Accreditation Management in the top right section of the PARS dashboard.

Completion of these steps will fulfill your year-end reporting requirement. 

New Resource: Excel Batch Template to Update Learner Counts and Close Activities

We’ve created a helpful new batch template for those of you who already have your activities entered into PARS and all you need to do is update your learner counts and close your activities.

This abbreviated batch template allows you to enter just the ACCME activity ID and your learner count totals and close your activities. You do not need to enter any other information in the template. The template columns are the same as those included in the Excel template used to add or update activities, which is helpful if your system is programmed to export your activity information into the template. You can find the template for just CME activities here and the template that also has MOC columns here. Instructions for how to use the template can be found here.

More Year-End Reporting Resources 

• Year-End Reporting Checklist: This guide includes a detailed checklist with the necessary steps and resources to help you complete your year-end reporting.  
• Webinars: We're hosting a series of live, weekly webinars on Tuesday afternoons to answer your questions about year-end reporting. Register here. Unable to join a webinar? A recording of our first webinar and the corresponding slides are now available.  
• PARS FAQ: Explore frequently asked questions about year-end reporting. 

Visit our New PARS webpage for more information. 

Questions? We're happy to help. Please contact us at info@accme.org.

ACCME Academy Spotlight 

Elevate your learning experience and explore these courses in ACCME Academy:

• Accreditation Tips–Achieving Compliance with Enhances Skills: Looking for ways to meet the Enhances Skills Commendation Criteria? Learn from ACCME’s Sebastian Orr as he shares strategies for CE staff and educators in working towards Accreditation with Commendation.
• Facilitating Reflective Practice: Gaining clear insight into one’s own performance gaps and educational needs can be a challenge for healthcare professionals. This course, as a part of the Effective Teaching Toolkit curriculum, will provide a framework and applicable strategies for cultivating learners’ reflective practice skills. Learn from Joan Sargeant, PhD; Eric Holmboe, MD; and other experts in education research.

Collaboration and Engagement 

THRIVING TOGETHER: ACCELERATE LEARNING, CHANGE, AND GROWTH IN HEALTHCARE

According to a recent study published in JAMA, women hold only about 15% of CEO positions in healthcare organizations, despite women comprising the majority of the healthcare workforce. At the ACCME, our vision is a world where our community of educators supports healthcare professionals in delivering optimal healthcare for all—and we can only achieve this vision when women are proportionately represented at every level of the healthcare enterprise. Learn more about our vision for the future in our new ACCME Strategic Plan: 2022-2026 here.

SEEKING YOUR FEEDBACK: CLINICIAN EDUCATOR MILESTONES

We are seeking your feedback on the Clinician Educator Milestones, a joint effort of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME), the ACCME, the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM). The Clinician Educator Milestones are a series of sub-competencies designed to aid in the development and improvement of teaching and learning skills across the continuum of medical education. The ultimate goal of these milestones is to provide faculty members with tools to help them with lifelong growth and development as educators. The Clinician Educator Milestones are not an ACGME accreditation requirement and are not intended to become one in the future.

The pilot version of the Clinician Educator Milestones is posted for public comment here, with a deadline of April 30, 2022.

APPLY FOR AMERICAN BOARD OF MEDICAL SPECIALTIES VISITNG SCHOLARS PROGRAM

The American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) is now accepting applications for the 2022–2023 ABMS Visiting Scholars Program™. This one-year, part-time program facilitates research projects that address pressing healthcare issues and research priorities for the ABMS Member Board community. Applications are due by 12:00 am CT on June 12, 2022. Learn more about the application process here.

REGISTER FOR 2022 SACME ANNUAL MEETING POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

Missed the 2022 Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME) Annual Meeting or wish you could continue the discussion with your colleagues? Consider registering for an interactive post-conference workshop, aimed at offering longitudinal learning opportunities on a variety of topics to better enhance your CME program and learner outcomes. Explore the workshop topics here.

CME for MOC 

AMERICAN BOARD OF ANESTHESIOLOGY HIGH PRIORITY TOPICS REPORT

The American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) has released its 2021 Q3-Q4 High Priority Topics Report, which offers insights into planning CME for board-certified anesthesiologists to develop and maintain their knowledge and skillset. Report contents are informed by anesthesiologists’ continuing certification program performance, rather than survey responses. Explore the report, including previous publications from 2021, here. 

NEUROCRITICAL CARE PRACTICE AREA NOW AVAILABLE FOR MOC/CC REGISTRATION

The American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM), and American Board of Surgery (ABS) have begun certifying diplomates in neurocritical care. If you offer accredited CME activities that cover topics relevant to neurocritical care, you can now select that practice area when registering your activities for Maintenance of Certification/Continuing Certification (MOC/CC) for ABA, ABIM, and ABS.

Career Opportunities 

The ACCME has three position openings. Interested candidates should send their cover letter and resume to info@accme.org.   

• COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR supports and improves the ACCME’s communications via multiple channels including websites, social media, podcasts, e-newsletters, articles, and reports.
• PROGRAM SUPPORT SPECIALIST assists users in inputting data correctly into the Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) and aids staff with routine technical support requests.
• CUSTOMER SUCCESS MANAGER supports customers in understanding how to input data correctly and analyzes ACCME’s data for quality and reporting purposes.

In Case You Missed It 

• Advancing Social Justice Resources