Tips for Completing CMEs
Completing Continuing Medical Education Credits can be fun for some but completely tedious for others. CME activities can be extremely educational and help to keep providers up to date on current standards of care. From screening for Zika virus or any other emerging disease, to changes in recommended treatments for diseases like Gonorrhea cervicitis/
1. Start Early! This one can’t be stressed enough. If you’re a new grad, use this time before your first job to rack up credits. Certain activities have great cases that will also help bridge you from your book knowledge to clinical application. Take a personal day if needed and spend some quiet time doing online activities. Check nearby hospitals’ calendars early in the year to plan out conferences you’d like to attend and put them on your calendar.
2. List your resources. CMEforPA.com is obviously a great one! We provided lots of different online activities sorted by credit, specialty, etc. as well as tons of conferences. There’s also lots of other sites online that provide the CME activities themselves. Medscape and myCME would be examples of such providers. Whatever resources you’d like to use, make a list and save it somewhere easily accessible.
3. Find free CMEs! There’s lots of free ones online. Some local hospitals may also host free lectures with the potential to earn CME credit. Local Physician Assistant societies also often hold meetings with CME opportunities. There’s lots of ways to go about it.
4. Join the AAPA. It’s great to be part of the organization that provides such an integral role in the rules/regulations regarding our practice in the first place, but they also provide lots of networking opportunities and of course, CMEs! As a member, you have access to lots of their online activities, some of which are posted on our site. With your membership, you also receive JAAPA which has CME activities every mo. As a pro tip, journal reading also qualifies for Category 2 credit on an hourly basis! It definitely comes with a cost, but of all the annual fees, this one seems to be the best value.
5. Use your CME Allowance. Check with your job to see if they provide an allowance for purchasing CME activities or to help pay to attend conferences. If they don’t already, ask them! It can’t hurt to ask since it’s a requirement to maintain certification. Many employers also provide time off to complete CMEs. Don’t let your days expire without using them! You earned that time off and you also need that time to catch up on current best practice recommendations.
Hope those help you get through your cycle! Don’t forget, cycles generally end December 31st of each year. The NCCPA can also audit PAs, so stay organized!