UAMS College of Medicine Office Receives Highest Accreditation Level for Continuing Education
| LITTLE ROCK — The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS)College of Medicine Continuing Medical Education (CME) Office, the only nationally accredited provider in Arkansas, received a six-year Accreditation with Commendation, the highest level awarded by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Education (ACCME).
The College of Medicine’s CME Office coordinates state-of-the-art, evidence-based continuing medical education for faculty physicians at UAMS and physicians practicing throughout the state. The office works with several respected national groups such as the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of America and the American Academy on Communication in Healthcare (AACH).
“The Accreditation with Commendation takes us from a four-year reaccreditation cycle to a six-year cycle, saving countless hours of work that goes into the laborious process of applying for ACCME reaccreditation and a considerable amount of money in fees,” said Jeannette Shorey II, M.D., associate dean for CME and faculty affairs.
Shorey credited the work of CME Director Lea Mabry.
“Lea led her team very well and guided the required self-study expertly,” Shorey said. “Lea is an educator who deeply understands the educational design and progress improvement methodologies that are so highly valued by the ACCME.”
The ACCME evaluates institutions based on the rigorous standards of seven sponsoring organizations including the American Medical Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges and the American Board of Medical Specialties.
Physicians, as well as others on health care teams, rely on accredited continuing medical education to help them deliver high-quality and safe patient care. Physicians in Arkansas are required to obtain at least 20 hours of American Medical Association Physician’s Recognition Award (AMA PRA) Category 1 credits each year to maintain their license. In Arkansas, most CME credits are awarded through CME activities accredited by the College of Medicine.
In 2006, the ACCME raised the bar for providing accredited CME activities. Meeting this challenge required considerable changes in long-standing policies and procedures. The UAMS CME team had to reinvent its work within the office and with colleagues across the college and state.
“Change can be painful, and our team handled the pressure professionally, displaying a can-do attitude while handling a large volume of activities and participant data,” Mabry said. “The CME team is instrumental in guiding program directors, planners and CME associates through the often tedious paperwork required to plan and document each activity. The team’s diligence at achieving excellence can be attributed to everyone understanding the criteria and gently but firmly applying the rigorous requirements for every CME activity.”
The CME Office offers a full-range of services from instructional design and educational planning to coordination details.
UAMS is the state’s only comprehensive academic health center, with colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy, Health Professions and Public Health; a graduate school; a hospital; a statewide network of regional centers; and seven institutes: the Winthrop P. Rockefeller Cancer Institute, the Jackson T. Stephens Spine & Neurosciences Institute, the Myeloma Institute for Research and Therapy, the Harvey & Bernice Jones Eye Institute, the Psychiatric Research Institute, the Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging and the Translational Research Institute. Named best Little Rock metropolitan area hospital by U.S. News & World Report, it is the only adult Level 1 trauma center in the state. UAMS has more than 2,800 students and 790 medical residents. It is the state’s largest public employer with more than 10,000 employees, including about 1,000 physicians and other professionals who provide care to patients at UAMS, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, the VA Medical Center and UAMS regional centers throughout the state. Visit www.uams.edu or uamshealth.com.