News

SUPPORTING DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION IN ACCREDITED CE

As part of our initiative to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in all aspects of accredited education, we invite the accredited education community to submit DEI resources for CE programming to info@accme.org to help expand our community’s library of DEI materials. Submitted resources will be reviewed for publication on the ACCME’s DEI Resources webpage.

If you have a DEI resource that you found especially useful, we’d love to hear from you! Please email info@accme.org with the following:  

• “DEI Resources” in the email subject line. 
• Your name, title, and organization. 
• A link to the resource and a description of how you used the resource and/or found it valuable. 
• Confirmation that this resource may be publicly shared. 

Thank you for helping the ACCME create and support a culture of mutual respect, inclusivity, and equity within the community of accredited providers and for the faculty and healthcare professionals engaged in accredited continuing education.

ONE DAY LEFT TO SUBMIT YOUR PROPOSALS FOR THE ACCME 2023 MEETING

Time is running out to participate in our Call for Proposals for #ACCME2023! You won’t want to miss this opportunity to propose and lead a session, guide a working group, or share your research in accredited education—or all three! Share your ideas by tomorrow, October 28, and save the date for the in-person ACCME 2023 Meeting on May 16-18, 2023 at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel.  Learn more about the submission options here.  

Curious about what it’s like to be a faculty member at ACCME’s annual meeting? Hear from Raynor Denitzio, Associate Director, Educational Development and Accreditation, Postgraduate Medical Education, Harvard Medical School, who shares his experience as a faculty member at the ACCME 2022 Meeting. 

EXPLORE THE 2021 ACCME DATA REPORT 

We are pleased to release the ACCME Data Report: Onward and Upward: Thriving Together in Accredited Continuing Education – 2021, which includes data from a community of 1,668 accredited organizations that offer physicians, other healthcare professionals, and healthcare teams an array of continuing education resources to promote high-quality, safe, and effective care for patients. The report shows a 19% increase in accredited educational activities, demonstrating continued growth in online learning and team-based learning. Download the report here.

Reminders for Accredited Providers

2023 ANNUAL ACCREDITATION FEES

Earlier this week, we sent invoices to ACCME-accredited providers as well as those accredited by the California Medical Association, Massachusetts Medical Society, and Missouri State Medical Association (at the request of those state medical societies). Payment will be due by January 31, 2023. The fee schedule is posted here.   

If your organization is accredited by the ACCME or one of the state medical societies listed above and you did not receive this information, please contact info@accme.org. If your organization is accredited by a state medical society not listed above, please contact your accreditor. 

GET STARTED NOW WITH YEAR-END REPORTING AND MOC LEARNER-COMPLETION DEADLINES   

All certifying boards have year-end requirements for their physicians. To best support your learners, please enter their CME for MOC completion data for 2022 in PARS by the deadlines listed below. We encourage you to report this data into PARS on an ongoing basis as they complete activities, preferably within 30 days of the learner completing the activity and evaluation. 

• Learner completion data should be submitted to PARS by December 1, 2022, for the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP).   
• Learner completion data should be submitted to PARS by December 31, 2022, for the following certifying boards:   
  • American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA)  
  • American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)   
  • American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO)
  • American Board of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (ABOHNS)  
  • American Board of Pathology (ABPath) 
  • American Board of Surgery

For questions about submitting learner data in PARS, check out this tutorial. Explore additional technical details on submitting learner data in PARS using batch upload processes or web services here.

Questions? Email us at info@accme.org. We are happy to help!

Education and Resources

DEBUNKING CE PLANNING MYTHS: TIPS FOR SIMPLIFICATION

Whether you’ve worked in accredited education for many years, or you are just starting out, there is always an opportunity to pause and reflect on ways to streamline your processes and reduce workloads for your team, faculty, and learners. To support our accredited providers and encourage more efficient planning strategies, we asked leaders in CE planning to share some common myths they have encountered about accreditation, and to set the record straight. Read more here, including tips from:

APPLY REFLECTIVE LEARNING IN YOUR CE PROGRAMMING 

Reflective learning is an educational intervention that plays an influential role in promoting practice change. This intervention encourages physicians to engage in mindful reflection of their clinical environment, which is a critical step in providing quality patient care. Reflective learning is a process rather than a single-time event. To do this well, facilitators should act as guides to learners, supporting them through the process of reflection. Learn more about applying reflective learning in your program on page 121 of the CE Educator’s Toolkit, an educational design resource developed by the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME) through an ACCME research grant. 

NATIONAL ACADEMY OF MEDICINE (NAM) PUBLISHES NATIONAL PLAN FOR HEALTH WORKFORCE WELL-BEING

Earlier this month, the NAM Action Collaborative on Clinician Wellbeing and Resilience released the National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being, a plan designed to help drive policy and systems change that improve clinician wellbeing. The National Plan includes guidance and next steps for working with leaders in healthcare and public health, educators, policymakers, health IT companies, payers, regulators, and associations to cultivate a supportive heath system that optimizes clinician wellbeing. The National Plan has received endorsements from over 30 organizations to date, including the ACCME.

LEARN WELL WITH FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ON ACCREDITATION COMPLIANCE

Looking for more information on how to comply with the Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education? Explore our frequently asked questions, including content related to ineligible companies:

• When is a company that is developing its first product considered to be an ineligible company? 
• What are some examples of content that is or is not related to the business lines of the ineligible company?

For more resources, visit our Standards resources webpage here.

Collaboration & Engagement

WASHINGTON MEDICAL COMMISSION JOINS ACCME AND STATE MEDICAL LICENSING BOARDS COLLABORATION 

We’re pleased to share that the Washington Medical Commission has joined the ACCME and State Medical Licensing Boards Collaboration, a collaboration that also includes the boards in Alabama, California, Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, and the Virgin Islands. This initiative aims to reduce reporting burdens for physicians and simplify the auditing process for licensing boards. Learn more here.

Career Opportunities

Explore ACCME’s careers page and check out our two open positions! Interested candidates should send their cover letter and resume to info@accme.org.

• Administrative Assistant: Provides critical support for the finance, operations, and executive functions at ACCME. 
• Program Support Analyst: Aids accredited providers, collaboration partners, staff, and volunteers in their use and understanding of ACCME’s PARS.