This past month has brought several important issues to the Faculty Forum including concern regarding constraints on faculty spending their carry forward funds, notice on contract end dates for career-track faculty, and the accreditation of a Continuing Medical Education (CME) course developed by the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine (SEGM). The Provost is developing a policy regarding carry forward spending and the Faculty Senate Executive committee will be discussing the contract end date notice with the Provost at our next meeting. The SEGM CME course accreditation is currently suspended at the request of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) while a review is conducted.
The issue of CME is a new one for the Faculty Senate and many senators have expressed concern about the process and inquired as to why the faculty senate does not have a role in this activity. I have spoken with the dean of the College of Medicine and our CME leadership. Here’s what I have learned about CME and the accreditation process and the approval of the sessions jointly provided by SEGM.
What is CME? CME is exactly what the name implies. It is continuing education that helps clinicians stay current in their fields and become aware of new developments and standards of care in their specialty. Most state licensing boards and health specialty certification boards require clinicians to acquire a certain amount of CME credits to maintain their licenses.
Who accredits CME courses? For a course to qualify for CME credit, it must be delivered by, or in partnership with, an organization accredited by the ACCME. Many medical schools are accredited by the ACCME to offer CME courses. They may develop their own courses for CME credit, or they can provide CME credit for courses created by other organizations if they determine that the CME activity meets ACCME requirements. For example, many scientific meetings with clinically relevant content seek to offer CME credit as a benefit for clinician attendees.
The WSU College of Medicine (COM) is accredited by the ACCME to offer CME courses. Continuing professional education courses are also provided by the College of Nursing (CNE), the College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (CPE), and the College of Veterinary Medicine (VCE) for clinicians in those fields. Professional continuing education courses (CME, CNE, CPE, VCE) are not provided for university credit and are not reviewed by the Faculty Senate.
As an accredited CME provider, the COM is also able to accredit courses from outside entities. Our CME program has approved a series of presentations by the SEGM for CME credit. The SEGM is an eligible organization to seek CME accreditation for their courses. The review of the SEGM sessions were judged by the COM CME program, after review by specialty experts, to be in compliance with ACCME standards for their content. The accreditation of the SEGM courses by our College of Medicine generated strong reactions from concerned faculty within the College of Medicine and in other WSU colleges. Those reactions prompted a request by the ACCME to suspend the courses pending an inquiry. The CME program in the WSU College of Medicine is responding to the ACCME with documentation of the review process. The ACCME has not given a timeline for their review. The Senate will request that the results of the review be shared with us in follow-up on this issue.