Continuing Medical Education (CME)
Understanding the Laws and Regulations for Assuring Continued Competence
for Doctors of Medicine, Osteopathy, Podiatry and Chiropractic
In 1997, the General Assembly of Virginia passed a law (§54.1-2912.1) to ensure continuing competency of practitioners licensed by the Virginia Board of Medicine.
As of January 1, 2000, physicians need to keep a record of the continuing competency hours obtained in the years 2000-2002. In order to renew an active license biennially, the practitioner must complete at least 60 hours of continuing learning activities.
30 hours shall be Type 1 continuing learning activities. Type 1 hours are those that can be documented by an accredited sponsor or organization sanctioned by the profession. All 60 continuing competency hours each biennium may be Type 1 hours.
The Board requires that 15 of the Type 1 hours must be earned in a face-to-face activity. Face-to face activities (like Medical Grand Rounds) are those activities or courses in which a physician actually interact with his/her peers.
No more than 30 hours shall be Type 2 Continuing learning activities. Type 2 hours are those earned in self-study, attending professionally related meetings, research and writing for a journal, learning a new procedure, sitting with the hospital ethics panel, etc. They are activities chosen by the practitioner based on assessment of his/her practice. They do not have to be sponsored by an accrediting organization, but must be recorded by the practitioner on the form provided by the Board. Note: validation requires activity's minutes.
During the physician’s birth month in 2002 at the time of renewal, the physician will be required to certify that the appropriate credits have been obtained. Some physicians will be required to submit proof that they have obtained these hours. In order to renew an active license biennially, the practitioner must complete the Continued Competency Activity and Assessment Form (Acrobat PDF file), which is provided by the Board and must indicate completion of at least 60 hours of continued learning activities.
Note: You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your system in order to view these documents. If you do not have it, go to Adobe's Acrobat Reader download site.
For detailed instructions on completing the Continued Activity and Assessment form, please review the instructions provided by the board of medicine:
Virginia Board of Medicine Continued Competency Activity and Assessment form-Instructions (Acrobat PDF file)
The Virginia Board of Medicine has also prepared a form of frequently asked questions (FAQs):
Questions and Answers on Continuing Competency Requirements for the Virginia Board of Medicine (Acrobat PDF file)
Official transcripts for category 1 credits earned at VCU (for attendance at accredited conferences like Medical Grand Rounds and any other activities accredited by VCU for category 1 credit) are available through the VCU Office of Continuing Medical Education (OCME). To receive your transcripts, complete a Request for Category 1 Credit Hours Transcript (Acrobat PDF file). Please note that you must include your social security number and signature. There is a $10 fee for all transcripts. Requests should be sent to OCME, Box 980048, Richmond, VA 23298-0048. Please allow 10 working days for processing.
CME Resources on the Web:
VCU CME: For information concerning online and other CME offerings from the VCU office of Continuing Medical Education. Pleasit visit VCU OCME online at www.medschool.vcu.edu/cme
AMA CME Select: From the American Medical Association. Features on-line CME courses, a CME locator and information on the AMA’s Physician’s Recognition Award
CME Web: From American Health Consultants. Offers AMA Category 1 CME credit in virtually every medical specialty. Physicians can register through a rapid on-line process, take electronic CME tests over the Internet, and receive feedback and credit immediately in various specialty fields.
CME-CE.COM: The accredited activities on CME-CE.COM are a FREE service supported by unrestricted educational grants. A quick, one-time registration is required in order to ensure proper awarding of continuing education credits.
Medscape CME Center: Medscape offers both free and fee-based continuing education activities. The free programs are learning modules developed by Medscape under unrestricted educational grants and accredited by an approved sponsor. The fee-based program is available on select medical journal articles developed by Medscape and other publishers and accredited by an ACCME approved sponsor.
CMESearch.COM: CMESearch offers a comprehensive list of accredited resources for physicians. Includes advanced access to information on Live Conferences, Video and Audio Programs, Courses on CD-ROM and Courses available via Internet in almost every medical specialty.
