Medical Education News

NAMEC Member, the National Association for Continuing Education (NACE), announces the 2020 Conversations in Primary Care season that kicked off on Saturday, February 8, 2020 with a record number of live attendees.

Over 1,000 primary care clinicians joined NACE online for the first of 9 virtual CME activities entitled “Conversations in” planned this year. Attendees were actively engaged with the program, responding to more than 300 audience questions, over 26,000 pre- and post- test responses and nearly 3,200 total downloads of program resources. 

“This program featured an outstanding faculty presenting diverse, clinically important data that included topics on Statin Intolerance, C. Difficile Colitis, Psoriasis and Diabetes,” said Gregg Sherman, MD, Chief Medical Officer. “The audience was very engaged throughout the program with many questions and live phone calls. We received excellent feedback from learners on the program who really appreciate the format.”

Utilizing the ON24 engagement platform, attendees achieved an average engagement score of 8.2/10, more than double the CE benchmark score of 4.0. ON24 is the streaming provider for the “Conversations in” series. 

“This is our fourth year presenting the Conversations in Primary Care series, and each year we see positive audience growth,” said Stephen Webber, VP, Business Development & Strategy, and Producer of the “Conversations in” CME activities. “Surpassing 1,000 very engaged participants is a very important milestone that we have been working towards for the past three years, and the extensive live production capabilities and expertise at Broadcast Beat Studios positions us to continue to grow our live audience and maintain high engagement with the audience.”

The next Conversations in Primary Care will be held on March 14, 2020. For more information or to sign up to attend, please visit: naceonline.com.

Dear Colleague,

This is a reminder that ACCME has issued a call for comment on the recently proposed revised Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education. We encourage each NAMEC member organization to respond so that the concerns of MECs can be heard on this important issue. The proposed changes can be found here:ACCME proposed changes & Call for Comment Information Package. The survey for submitting responses can be found here: https://web.cvent.com/survey/b94a9d54-8d19-44f8-9558-dddaded0e874/questions?r=5a60990a-303d-4601-84a7-d107e84d3c2a

Responses are due by 5:00 PM CST on Friday, February 21.

Please note: The deadline for submission is March 6, 2020

This is a call for nominations to fill open seats on the NAMEC Board of Directors. Candidates should indicate which position they are running for in their nomination submission:

• 3 Director positions (two 3-year terms and one 2-year term)
• 1 Secretary position (3-year term)
• President-Elect (1-year term, plus 2-year term as President)

Duties of Directors

• Directors must be willing to, at minimum, attend 1 face-to face board meeting per year (usually held during the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions Annual Conference), participate on Board conference calls (approximately monthly) and participate with standing and ad hoc committees as requested by the President
• Directors must be willing to Chair standing and ad hoc committees as requested by the President
• Directors should also be willing to serve as an officer of the organization (officers are elected by the membership from the members of the Board)

Duties of Secretary

• The Secretary will be responsible for maintaining records of NAMEC business and NAMEC Board of Director meetings
• The Secretary will be responsible for overseeing the NAMEC Board of Directors and Officers election process
• The Secretary will be responsible for overseeing the Annual NAMEC Best Practice Awards process
• The Secretary must be willing to, at minimum, attend 1 face-to face board meeting per year (usually held during the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions Annual Conference), participate on Board conference calls (approximately monthly) and participate with standing and ad hoc committees as requested by the President
• Nominees for Secretary must be drawn from the current NAMEC Board of Directors and Officers

Duties of President-Elect

• The President-Elect will serve as a liaison between the NAMEC Board of Directors/Officers and NAMEC Committee Chairpersons
• The President-Elect will identify and recruit individuals to serve as Committee Chairpersons and Committee members
• In the absence or disability of the President, the duties of that office shall be performed by the President-Elect
• The President-Elect must be willing to, at minimum, attend 1 face-to face board meeting per year (usually held during the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions Annual Conference), participate on Board conference calls (approximately monthly) and participate with standing and ad hoc committees as requested by the President
• The President-Elect must be willing to serve a 3-year term (1-year term as President-Elect followed by 2-year term as President)
• Nominees for President-Elect must be drawn from the current NAMEC Board of Directors and Officers

Qualifications of Nominees

• Those nominated should be employed by a NAMEC member organization in good standing and have at least 3 years experience in the CME industry
• All nominees should possess leadership ability, a high degree of personal and professional integrity, and the ability to recruit members to the organization and volunteers to support our activities
• In addition, the organization encourages individuals with one or more of the following characteristics, which have been identified as critical skills/qualifications for Board members:

• Familiarity with changes in healthcare and medical education, particularly the role of CME in improving the quality and safety of patient care
• CME regulatory expertise
• Experience related to MEC public relations and/or advocacy
• Strong skills in business, marketing, and/or communications
• Knowledge of adult education principles

Nomination and Election Process

• To be eligible for nomination, candidates must be members of organizations that meet the definition of “full voting”
• Any representative of a “full voting” organization may make a nomination, including a self-nomination.
• Candidates must submit the following information to the NAMEC Business Office, info@NAMEC-assn.org by March 6, 2020

• A biographical sketch of no more than 350 words
• A “statement of philosophy” pertinent to the goals and mission of the organization of no more than 350 words

• The Nomination and Elections Committee will review the submissions, prepare the slate of candidates, and email a ballot to the “primary” member of each “full voting” organization. 
• All ballots (1 from each member organization) must be cast on or before March 20, 2020
• The results of the election will be announced on March 23, 2020

Candidates should expect an email acknowledging receipt of their submission from the NAMEC business office. If an acknowledgement is not received, please call 205-824-7612 to ensure your submission is received.

NAMEC Board of Directors’ and Officers’ Code of Ethics

NAMEC board members have an obligation to do more than just meet legal standards. NAMEC board members are expected to meet standards of conduct as well. All board members must agree to uphold the NAMEC Board of Directors Code of Ethics statement upon election to the Board.

NAMEC Board of Directors’ and Officers’ Code of Ethics statement

As a member of the NAMEC Board of Directors I will:

• Ensure that my fiduciary duty to NAMEC is the foundation for all of my actions as a Board member
• Represent the interests of all members served by NAMEC
• Refrain from using my service on the NAMEC Board primarily for my own personal advantage
• Keep confidential any information so designated by the Board of Directors
• Approach all Board issues with an open mind, listen respectfully to the opinions of my Board colleagues, and make decisions based on the best interests of NAMEC and its members
• Act with the authority of NAMEC only when such authority is delegated to me by the Board or the bylaws
• Sign or e-mail an agreement attesting to this policy

All interested candidates should forward their biographical sketch and statement of philosophy to the NAMEC Business Office by March 6, 2020.

Email: info@NAMEC-assn.org

Website: http://www.NAMEC-assn.org

If you have questions regarding the nominations process or the duties of Officers and Directors, please contact Rich Keenan at rkeenan@achlcme.org or Kurt Boyce at kboyce@appliedcme.com.

Congratulations to NAMEC Member Haymarket Medical Education for been accredited as a provider of interprofessional continuing education (IPCE) by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nursing Credentialing Center (ANCC). 

IPCE accreditation seeks to assure health professionals and the public that continuing education activities provided by HME meet the high standards of the Criteria for Accreditation and the Standards for Commercial Support of the Joint Accreditation Agency, the ACCME, the ACPE and the ANCC. 

Read the full press release for more details about this tremendous accomplishment.

Next Stop: Chicago! Buckle up and get ready to discover new skills and practical strategies that will fuel your journey of educational leadership in accredited continuing medical education (CME). Here's what you can look forward to at the ACCME 2020 Meeting:

•         Get inspired for the road ahead with Keynote sessions on educational leadership, teaming, and health equity.

•         Plot a strategic educational plan to advance the impact of your CME program as an organizational change-engine.

•         Share your CME Story... and make connections with colleagues who are sharing their experiences.

•         Discover ways to foster wellness and meaning for your learners and your education team.

•         Connect best practices in Learning Science to your CME planning.

•         Find new routes to accelerating your CME with insights from fellow educators, researchers, public health leaders, and patient-partners.

For more information about the ACCME 2020 Meeting or to register, visit www.accmemeeting.org .

Discounted Early Bird registration fees are available until midnight on Friday, January 24, 2020.

NAMEC and PGi hosted a free webinar December 17, 2019 at 1:00 pm Eastern (12:00 noon Central) to display how to use webcast technology for CME events. The session included representatives from PGi and NAMEC Board member Tricia Wilson from OptumHealth Education.

If you missed the webinar, a recorded version is available at this link.

An AAFP blog post titled "How Much Will This Cost, Doc?" covers a primary care physician's experience at a CME event where she describes feeling frustrated in not being able to use the knowledge gained:

But if continuing medical education is supposed to help us help our patients, is it fair to ask that the mission of CME evolves to include figuring out how to help our patients afford the amazing treatments we learn about?

Read the entire article here.

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) released Learning Together: Engaging Patients as Partners in Accredited Continuing Medical Education — Report from the ACCME 2019 Meeting. The report offers educators strategies and tips for engaging patients as partners in planning and teaching continuing medical education (CME). Through their participation, patients can increase the meaning, relevance, and effectiveness of CME and contribute to improving care for patients and communities.

Highlights from Learning Together

The report summarizes the Learning Together track held at the ACCME 2019 Annual Meeting, including strategies for designing patient-centered research, collaborating with patients in CME, and faculty development for patients and educators. Patient-partners participated in the Learning Together track as planners and faculty, and their perspective is woven throughout the report.

Learning Together: Engaging Patients as Partners in Accredited Continuing Medical Education includes:

• Reflections from a patient-partner
• Tips for developing a patient inclusion action plan
• Case study: Building a patient-partner continuing education planning committee
• Patient-partner readiness checklist
• Seven key recommendations
  

Coming Soon

An online course, “Learning Together with Patient-Partners in CME,” will be available soon on the ACCME website. Using a narrative case study, the course explores how patient-partners contribute to CME and provides strategies for integrating patient-partners into the planning and delivery of CME.

Rewarding Patient Engagement in CME

The Learning Together initiative builds on ACCME’s efforts to support the inclusion of patients in CME for clinicians and teams. In its Menu of Criteria for Accreditation with Commendation, the ACCME includes a criterion that recognizes accredited organizations that incorporate patients as planners and faculty in educational programming. This criterion is included because accredited CME is enhanced when it incorporates the interests of the people who are served by the healthcare system.

Leadership Comments

“As a patient advocate, I have encouraged patient involvement in as many areas as possible, including medical education and research. This report will help CME providers take that first step forward and do what they can today to engage patient-partners in CME. I am so proud of the work we’ve done together, and I look forward to seeing where we go from here."—Melissa Hicks, Patient-Partner, ACCME; Stanford Medicine X; Member, Advisory Panel for Clinical Effectiveness and Decision Science, PCORI

"We celebrate the participation of our patient-partners in our Learning Together initiative. By sharing their expertise and perspectives, they make invaluable contributions to our community of educators. In my experience as a clinician, educator, and learner, I’ve found that patients can be our best teachers. Patient inclusion in CME can engage clinicians’ hearts as well as minds and reinforce the reasons why our work matters. Together we can create a CME community that not only aims to support clinicians in delivering optimal healthcare for all—but strives toward that goal with patients as partners." —Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, President and CEO, ACCME 

Download the report here: www.accme.org/learning-together

More Resources

• Patient Involvement in CME: This webpage includes tips and tools about including patients as planners and faculty in education for clinicians and teams

• Coffee with Graham: in this podcast, Graham McMahon, MD, MMSc, President and CEO, ACCME, discusses ways that educators can engage patients in CME.

PCORI Award

Learning Together: Engaging Patients in Professional Development of Physicians and Healthcare Teams,” is part of a portfolio of projects that PCORI has funded to help develop a community of patients and other stakeholders equipped to participate as partners in comparative clinical effectiveness research (CER) and disseminate PCORI-funded study results.  Through the Engagement Award Program, PCORI is creating an expansive network of individuals, communities and organizations interested in and able to participate in, share, and use patient-centered CER.

The ACCME project and the other projects approved for funding by the PCORI Engagement Award Program were selected through a highly competitive review process in which applications were assessed for their ability to meet PCORI’s engagement goals and objectives, as well as program criteria.

PCORI

PCORI is an independent, nonprofit organization authorized by Congress in 2010 to fund comparative effectiveness research that will provide patients, their caregivers, and clinicians with the evidence needed to make better-informed health and healthcare decisions. PCORI is committed to seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders to guide its work.

ACCME

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME®) is a nonprofit organization based in Chicago, responsible for accrediting organizations that offer continuing medical education (CME) and for recognizing state medical societies as accreditors of local CME programs. The ACCME is a cofounder of Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™.

The ACCME sets standards for CME that reflect the values of the educator community and aim to accelerate learning, inspire change, and champion improvement in healthcare. These standards ensure that accredited CME is designed to be relevant to clinicians’ needs, evidence-based, evaluated for its effectiveness, and independent of commercial influence. Through participation in accredited CME, clinicians and teams drive improvement in their practice and optimize the care, health, and wellness of their patients.

Accredited CME facilitates engagement with physicians and healthcare teams where they live, learn, and work. There are approximately 1,700 accredited CME providers within the ACCME System, across the country and internationally, representing a range of organizations including medical schools, hospitals/health systems, government/military agencies, specialty societies, and insurance/managed-care companies. Accredited providers offer about 180,000 activities each year, comprising more than one million hours of instruction and including more than 36 million interactions with physicians and other healthcare professionals.

For more information, visit www.accme.org. 

"Our diets are killing us and doctors aren't trained to help" is the title of an opinion piece that appeared recently on The Hill. 

...by helping physicians understand the connection between food and health, we can produce better individual patient outcomes, improve population health, and change our nation’s health-care landscape for the better.

The authors claim the entire spectrum of medical education fails to address the links between the food we eat and the health problems of Americans. View the article here.

The following is an ACCME press release we are sharing for NAMEC members or visitors that may be interested in furthering this message.

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME^®) is seeking nominees interested in serving as one of two public directors on its 20-member Board of Directors. ACCME's mission is to assure and advance quality learning for healthcare professionals that drives improvements in patient care. The ACCME fulfills its mission through a voluntary self-regulated system for accrediting CME providers and a peer-review process responsive to changes in medical education and the health care delivery system.

In addition to two public directors, the ACCME Board is composed of two nominees from each of ACCME’s seven member organizations (listed below), two directors affiliated with ACCME Recognized Accreditors (state/territory medical societies approved as accreditors for local organizations offering CME), and two non-voting representatives from the government. The ACCME member organizations are the American Board of Medical Specialties, the American Hospital Association, the American Medical Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Association for Hospital Medical Education, the Council of Medical Specialty Societies, and the Federation of State Medical Boards of the United States.

ACCME Expectations of Directors

Directors representing the public have the same rights and responsibilities as all directors. They are full voting members of the Board of ACCME. It is a director’s duty to administer the corporate affairs for the benefit of the ACCME, and it is expected that each director acts upon an informed basis, in good faith, and in the honest belief that the action was taken in the best interest of the ACCME.

Because the ACCME believes strongly that its public directors bring an important perspective to the work of our Board, they are charged with monitoring all Board and committee discussions to facilitate the identification of potential conflicts of interest that might arise. In addition, the senior public member serves as chair of the compensation committee.

Time Commitments

Time commitments include participation in three (1½ day) Board meetings per year and some Board committee or task force work between meetings, usually via conference call or email.

Eligibility

Please consider forwarding the name(s) of individual(s) who you think might serve the ACCME well. According to the Protocol for the Selection of the Public Representative to the ACCME:

The nominee should by virtue of education and public service possess special qualifications for bringing a “public” perspective to the process of evaluating programs of continuing medical education. The nominee might be qualified, for example, by experience as a hospital trustee, trustee of a health delivery system, a former government official in a role related to health or health education, a university administrator, a member of the news media with a particular expertise in health education or science.

In order to ensure the requisite impartiality to represent the public at large, members of the medical profession, persons otherwise eligible for selection as professional members, and anyone else who might be considered as sharing in the special interests of institutions or organizations being evaluated, shall be ineligible for service as public members.

Deadline

Nominations must be received by the ACCME no later than May 1, 2020. Nominations should include a curriculum vitae and a brief letter of nomination, and should be emailed to dpayne@accme.org.

Questions

Questions may be directed to ACCME’s Manager of Governance and External Relations, Debbie Payne, MA, CAE, at dpayne@accme.org.

Media inquiries

Tamar Hosansky
312-245-4066
thosansky@accme.org

Other inquiries

info@accme.org 

ACCME

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME^®) is a nonprofit organization based in Chicago, responsible for accrediting organizations that offer continuing medical education (CME) and for recognizing state medical societies as accreditors of local CME programs. The ACCME is a cofounder of Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™. 

The ACCME sets standards for CME that reflect the values of the educator community and aim to accelerate learning, inspire change, and champion improvement in healthcare. These standards ensure that accredited CME is designed to be relevant to clinicians’ needs, evidence-based, evaluated for its effectiveness, and independent of commercial influence. Through participation in accredited CME, clinicians and teams drive improvement in their practice and optimize the care, health, and wellness of their patients. 

Accredited CME facilitates engagement with physicians and healthcare teams where they live, learn, and work. There are approximately 1,700 accredited CME providers within the ACCME System, across the country and internationally, representing a range of organizations including medical schools, hospitals/health systems, government/military agencies, specialty societies, and insurance/managed-care companies. Accredited providers offer about 180,000 activities each year, comprising more than one million hours of instruction and including more than 36 million interactions with physicians and other healthcare professionals.