Criteria for awarding CME credits to health physicians.

Abstract

Credits have traditionally served as an incentive for physicians to participate in the continuing medical education (CME), which is the means for life-long learning. The public at large has granted special rights to the profession of medicine giving them their most precious commodity; their lives. The providers of CME have a responsibility to maintain and update physicians' knowledge and competency. 1 United States and Canada have been using continuing medical education credit to measure physician's participation in education for more than 50 years. It has been proven that engaging in lifelong learning would lead to a change in physician’s practice and improved patient care and outcomes.2 In this perspective, we have specifically defined the criteria for awarding CME credits to encourage practicing physicians in Pakistan and particularly within our University setting; as no system has yet been developed to measure and certify physician's participation in educational events. However, this could be replicated to award credits to other continuing professional development (CPD) activities. American Medical Association Physician's Recognition Award (AMA PRA), was emerged in 1968, in which live educational activities i.e. Category I was designated by accredited providers, whereas the rest five categories included various types of self-directed activities. In 1985, the AMA (PRA) was defined into categories 1 and 2 that made physicians fixed to attain 150 credit hours every 3 years with a minimum of 60 credit hours participation in Category I, i.e. live CME activities. The AMA and the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) describes CME as 'educational activities that serve to maintain, develop, or enhance the knowledge, skills, and professional performance and relationships that a physician uses to provide services for patients, the public or the profession'.3 Ever since its beginning, credit for CME has been calculated by units of time and awarded in hourly increments, as traditionally CME is mainly lecture-based and could most easily be measured in hours. CME activities in and outside US are still based on one credit per 60 minutes academic activity and are a source to career advancement and salary differentials in some cases.4