Self Directed CME

[sunlioness]

Advertisement - Members don't see this ad

So, I took a week of conference time off in December. I am going to plop myself down somewhere in Key West with a Wi-Fi connection and edumacate myself. I have a backlog of Carlat Reports to read through, but outside of that . . . any Category 1 self-directed CME type stuff that people would recommend I take a look at?

Hope you're all doing well and sorry I haven't been around much. Still kind of fried. Hoping Key West helps with that. It's actually two weeks off, but the first week is conference time and the second is pure vacay. Wow. I don't normally talk like that. Oh! I'm also going to be at APM in Tucson in November if anyone else is hitting that. I'm there without my wingman this year as he has to study for his recert.

I was on Jeopardy! last Thurs. Sorry I forgot to tell people here ahead of time. But if anyone saw the episode with the psychiatrist from Champaign who tanked and didn't make it to Final, that was me. 😀 (I didn't really tank. I was just slow on the buzzer. And I tried to get back into it by risking big on a Double and missed. Oh well.)

 

[whopper]

Remember to use anything spent on a CME as a tax deduction.

Unfortunately for me, my kids, ages 6 months and 2 years aren't old enough to take with me on a conference and I'd miss them too much. You go away from a kid for just a few days and they're very different, saying words they didn't say before. Maybe when they're a few years older I'll be hitting conferences again in other areas.

 

[gibits]

Is there an FAQ on CMEs in general? Like what they are for? Who to send them to? Where to get credits? Different teirs and requirements? Differences between psych and osteopathic CMEs?

I didn't have to worry about them for all of residency and now I have no idea what to do. Please advise.

 

[sunlioness]

Requirements vary by state. A state will tell you how many you need over what time frame, how many have to be Category 1 and if there needs to be a certain amount on any specific topic (like PA requires 12 be in Risk Management). There are two tiers, category 1 and category 2. The former is through programs that have been approved to grant Category 1 credit. The latter is stuff that you do on your own and just log or that hasn't gone through the above approval process. Most states require a certain number of Category 1 credits. I try to do it all category one because you get certificates that are handy to hang on to. Remembering to write down how long I spent researching something on my own is annoying, even if I do end up learning more that way. 1 Credit is felt to represent 1 hour of the educational experience. The best way to get them is to go to conferences. But there are things you can do on your own too, which is what I was asking about. These usually require reading something and answering a bunch of multiple choice questions about it. A certain passing score and you print out your certificate online.

Anyway, I've only come up for renewal in one state (PA) and what that state had me do was send them money and affirm that I'd completed the requirements. They didn't want me to send them anything. But you'd better have the documentation and have been honest about it in case you get audited. Also, if you apply for a new position or hospital privileges, they might want to see your certs and logs too.

There's CME requirements for recertifying too, I believe, but I don't run into that until 2019.

 

[shan564]

There's always UpToDate. And Medscape has CME activities quite often.

 

[SuperSoccer19]

A few CME ideas:

1. If you go to the Neuroscience Educational Institute (NEI) webpage--has to do with Stahl's Psychopharm books--and become a member, there are several free CMEs available, as well as educational activities that you don't get CME for. Free copy of his prescriber's guide which is a good resource by itself. I joined in Sept for the about $140 (the military rate--think otherwise it was 2-somthing?) and already have about 20. Plus I felt I learned something. You can do the book chapters for additional fees, but i am trying to do the free stuff. Think you can sign on as a guest before investing.

2. APA's website offers some, but most have a fee attached. Had also looked at getting the "Annual Meeting" computer/iPad stuff on their website, but its like $1,400...comes with a free iPad though...and I did get a lot out of the meeting itself when I went two years ago

3. If you become a member for UpToDate you can get cat 1 credits just for reading articles, but the psych section is somewhat weak and if you have a free subscription through your institution its probably not worth paying for this purpose.

If you come up with anything else, I would be interested.