Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a common practice amongst medical professionals to maintain competence and gain in-depth knowledge of new and developing areas of their respective fields. In the United States, many states require certain hours of CME for medical professionals in order to maintain their license.
For instance, Arizona requires an average of 40 hours of CME every two years. CME activities may take the form of live events, online programs, written publications, audio, video or any other electronic media. Online CME is quite popular and is helping medical professionals across the United States to maintain their licensure as well as competence in their area.
Online CME programs cover a vast number of areas – Communication, Risk Management, End of Life, Patient Safety, Medical Ethics, Medical Errors Prevention, Infectious Diseases, Universal Precautions, and so on that help in improving professional skills. Most courses also meet special CME needs of different states. These courses may have the focus on special areas such as Child Abuse, Domestic Violence, Prescribing Controlled Substances, Cultural Competence, and many more.
CME programs available online 24/7 are convenient as one can attend them anytime, anywhere. Participants can attend and resume courses as per their own pace and can also keep a track of their progress. The online sessions are highly interactive. Reputed CME websites also make physicians’ comments, evaluation and ratings of the courses available to all registered participants.
The CME certification of participation is awarded at the end of the program once the compulsory assessment questions are successfully completed. CME credits are earned by completing the required elements of a given program. Online CME programs do not involve any typical pass/fail CME exams.
CME certifications can be easily downloaded and printed. It is important to choose the right provider of online CME programs in order to effectively meet licensing and special state requirements.
The decision to choose and attend the right program should be based on the following criteria:
- All CME courses must be reviewed and sponsored for CME credit by academic centers and professional societies.
- All CME courses must be developed using an evidence-based approach.
- The CME programs must not be supported by commercial entities such as pharmaceutical companies or device manufacturers.
- CME programs must have a national focus and meet most special state CME requirements. Reputed CME program websites work closely with state regulators to monitor and comply with their specific requirements.
Online CME programs are offered by several reputed online platforms owned by academic centers. These sites do not accept commercial support or advertising and are primarily supported by fees through memberships. Course development is usually supported by grants from federal agencies or health care organizations. These sites continuously strive to widen their CME courses offerings so that almost all special state CME requirements could be met. These sites charge highly affordable rates per CME credit and also offer the money back guarantee.
If you too are looking forward to earn CME credits or certification online, make sure to enroll with only reliable and reputed online CME websites owned by some well-known academic center.
