Professional Study

CME Credits

CME is the abbreviation for Continuing Medical Education and consists of educational activities which serve to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills, and professional performance and relationships that a physician uses to provide services for patients, the public, or the profession.

CME refers to educational events that have been approved for CME credits. CME credits are important to physicians because some states require a specified number of credits annually to maintain medical licenses, and because most hospitals require a specified number of credits for their physicians to remain credentialed to see patients.

1. How do you qualify for CME credits?

The sponsoring organization must be,

1. Be accredited by either the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) or a recognized state medical society (SMS).

2. Meet all requirements of both the AMA and their accreditor (ACCME or SMS).

1. How are CME credits calculated?

CME credit is designed on an hour-for-hours basis, so for every hour one spends in an educational activity, one would receive 1 CME credit. Many activities include breaks or other activities that do not qualify for CME credit. These hours are not included when determining the total hours of credit for the activity.

2. What are CME credit hours?

These credits are considered CMEs (continuing medical education). No more than half (62.5) of the required number of contact hours may be earned through CMEs. You are responsible for converting CME credits into contact hours using the following ANCC conversion: 1 CME credit = 1 contact hour.

3. Who needs CME credits?

If your job requires any type of license or certification, most likely you must complete CME each year in order to renew your license or certification. Nurses, doctors, and allied health professionals are all required to complete CME credits yearly. As a result, CME is an ongoing requirement throughout a career

CPE Credits

Continuing professional education (CPE) is the means by which people maintain their knowledge and skills related to their professional lives. It is continuing education as applied to professional development. CPE obligations are common to most professions.