The American Society of Anesthesiologists is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.  Accredited CME plays an important role in helping physicians to refresh their knowledge and stay current with standards of care as well as maintaining state licensure, hospital credentials and fulfilling CME requirements for maintenance of certification. 

To maintain accreditation of its CME courses, it is imperative that ASA comply with all of the ACCME requirements, including providing education that is designed to improve physician competence and performance, is planned independent of commercial interests, and is free of commercial bias. The following information will help faculty better understand how to comply with the requirements as designers, developers and presenters of these courses.

*This page is designed after the ADDIE model. ADDIE is a systematic instructional design model consisting of five phases: (1) Analysis, (2) Design, (3) Development, (4) Implementation, and (5) Evaluation. Various flavors and versions of the ADDIE model exist.

Assess

• Defining Knowledge, Competence, Performance, and Patient Outcomes
• ASA Needs Assessment Data
• Sample Gaps and Needs
• Core Competency Definitions
• Complete Education Planning Worksheet
• CME information for physician planners

Design

• Tips for Writing Learning Objectives
• AMA information for accredited providers and physicians

Develop

• Presentation Review Checklist
• PowerPoint Tips for Embedding Audio and Video
• Writing ARS Questions/Sample slides
• Writing MCQ Questions for CME
• Constructing Written Test Questions For the Basic and Clinical Sciences
• Three Ways to Make Panel Discussions More Engaging, Authentic & Honest

Implement

• Tips for Slide Review
• Guidelines for using Audience Response System (ARS)
• Speaker Guidelines for CME Presentations
• Copyright Permissions Guidelines
• Editing and Proofreading
• PowerPoint Template

Evaluate

• Course Evaluation Template: Enduring Materials and Live Meetings

Forms

• Education Planning Worksheet
• ASA Copyright License Form
• Disclosure
• Speaker Agreement form
   

Policies

• Conflict of Interest (COI) Resolution Process
• Standards for commercial support/Supplemental Policies for Commercial Support
• ACCME Standards for Commercial Support FAQs
• Commercial Bias

Certified CME versus Promotional Activities

The National Faculty Education Initiative (NFEI) provides online training on the differences between certified CME and promotional activities.  Please click here to login and view the activities.
 

Additional Resources

• Comprehensive Guide to Education in Anesthesia, 
  Frost, Elizabeth A.M. (Ed.), 2014
• Ask a Librarian
• The Journal of the American Medical Association - What Is the Enemy in CME, Conflicts of Interest or Bias?
• Physician Payment Sunshine Act Final Rule: Quick Reference Guide
• Direct Credit from the AMA: Teaching at a live activity, Publishing articles, poster presentations, Board Certification