APA Wins Top Accreditation For CME Programs

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) notified APA's Department of Continuing Medical Education last month that APA has been awarded the status of “Accreditation With Commendation,” the highest level of approval.

Accreditation is critical to APA members and other physicians who participate in educational activities since it allows APA to offer CME credit for its programs, including the annual meetings, Focus: The Journal of Lifelong Learning in Psychiatry, some district branch activities, and a variety of online courses.

ACCME accreditation and approval from the AMA that accompanies it position APA as a provider of AMA Physician's Recognition Award (AMA PRA) Category 1 credit, which is the “currency” in all 50 states for license renewal and for hospital privileges. The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) also recognizes the value of CME credit. When ABPN recently outlined its CME requirement for Maintenance of Certification, it was described as 300 AMA PRA Category 1 credits over 10 years.

The ACCME accreditation decision was based on the review of an APA self-study report and related program files and an interview with ACCME surveyors, all of which provided evidence to demonstrate compliance with ACCME's “Essential Areas, Elements, and Policies.”

APA satisfied the requirements for each essential area and policy reviewed, and achieved exemplary compliance in the area of educational planning and evaluation, as well as in the area of administration.

The exemplary citations reflect strong member participation in the CME process, particularly through the APA components related to education, according to department director Kathleen Debenham, M.A., who led the reaccreditation effort. These components include the Committee on CME/Lifelong Learning, the Council on Medical Education and Lifelong Learning, the Annual Meeting and IPS Scientific Program committees, and the Committee on Commercial Support. ▪