Continuing Medical Education - CME Requirements

CME Requirements

In the United States, many states require CME for medical professionals to maintain their licenses. For example, Arizona requires an average of 40 hours of CME every two years. For a complete list of requirements by state, see State Medical Licensure Requirements and Statistics, 2006. Within the United States, CME for physicians is regulated by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the American Osteopathic Association (AOA).

In Canada, certification is provided by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC) and the College of Family Physicians Canada (CFPC). The RCPSC is responsible for the development and implementation of all certifying examinations in each specialty other than Family Medicine. Specialist physicians who join the Royal College as Fellows maintain their knowledge, skills, competence and performance through participating in the Maintenance of Certification Program. For each five year cycle, fellows of the college are required to document 400 credits, with a minimum of 40 credits obtained in each year of the cycle. Credits are earned at one to two credits per hour, based on the type of learning activity. The CFPC requires 250 credit-hours over a five year cycle. Fifty credits must be obtained for each year of the cycle. To earn and maintain fellowship within the college, an additional 24 credit-hours of higher level learning are also required over each learning cycle. Similarly, each province and territory requires documentation of ongoing CME for licensure.