Greensboro Area Health Education Center is pleased to announce we have been resurveyed by the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) and awarded Accreditation with Commendation for a term of six years as a provider of continuing medical education for physicians. Six-year accreditation is the highest accreditation awarded by the NCMS/ACCME and is a reflection of the high standards that we have put in place since implementing the new ACCME criteria. While our CME activities have long met ACCME’s high standards, receiving Accreditation with Commendation is a first in Greensboro AHEC history.
Mission Statement of the Office of Continuing Medical Education (CME)
Purpose & Mission:
Greensboro AHEC Continuing Medical Education
Mission Statement (last update 7/30/2009)
The Greensboro AHEC Continuing Medical Education Program is committed to providing practicing physicians with educational interventions that will support their efforts to improve their competencies in providing patient care.
Our goals are:
To collaborate with health care providers and other AHECs to identify needs, and to design, implement, and evaluate educational activities that are scientifically based and free from commercial bias, and are tied to statewide initiatives. These activities will comply with the North Carolina Medical Society Essentials and Standards of Accreditation.
To develop a visible and accessible CME presence in our region through regular visits to community hospitals and medical practices.
Target Audience:
The Greensboro AHEC CME Program provides educational interventions for physicians and healthcare professionals in North Carolina. Our primary target audience is physicians and other healthcare providers in our AHEC region.
Content Area:
Our CME Program has as its focus updates in primary care and subspecialty areas, based on ongoing needs assessment, and local and statewide health concerns and guided by the ACGME core competencies, including, medical knowledge, patient care, and professionalism.
Types of Activities:
Our programming consists of recurring conferences that take place at community hospitals across our AHEC region. We also produce multi-hour symposia and conferences for regional or statewide interdisciplinary audiences.
Expected Results:
As a result of participation in Greensboro AHEC CME activities, it is expected that physicians and healthcare providers will be able improve their medical knowledge and expertise, motivating them to develop strategies and make changes in their clinical practice that will improve their professional performance and competence in providing patient care.
The Greensboro AHEC Office of CME will collaborate with community physicians, CME Liaisons, and other health care providers at hospitals and other organizations in our region in the identification of needs, the development of educational objectives, the selection of topics and faculty, activity evaluation and connecting education with local quality initiatives to ensure that each activity meets the Essential Areas and Policies established by ACCME.
Credit:
There are two categories of credit for CME: Category 1 and Category 2. Briefly, Category 1, which can only be so designated by an accredited sponsor, is an educational activity which meets the Essentials of the ACCME and conforms to American Medical Association (AMA) definitions and criteria. Category 1 activities are generally more formal didactic presentations. Category 2 consists of non-supervised learning activities such as journal clubs, reading, teaching, and patient care consultations. More information about the AMA's designation of Category 1 and 2 credit can be obtained by visiting the ACCME website at www.accme.org.
Commercial Support:
Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
STANDARDS FOR COMMERCIAL SUPPORT OF CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION
Preamble:
The Purpose of continuing medical education (CME) is to enhance the physician's ability to care for patients. It is the responsibility of the accredited sponsor of a CME activity to assure that the activity is designed primarily for that purpose.
Accredited sponsors often receive financial and other support from non-accredited commercial organizations. Such support can contribute significantly to the quality of CME activities. The purpose of these Standards is to describe appropriate behavior of accredited sponsors in planning, designing, implementing, and evaluating certified CME activities for which commercial support is received.
Activities & Objectives:
Providing continuing medical education activities in our area hospitals through the bridge which brings medical faculty out of the university and into the community.
Developing and implementing a region-wide survey of physicians for identification of educational needs.
Developing a visible "CME presence" through visits to community hospital medical staff conferences and physician offices.
Evaluating long-standing CME activities for modification to meet ACCME Essentials.
Exploring non-traditional, innovative approaches to continuing medical education.
