CME, CPD, MainPRO+ ... what does it all mean? Continuing Medical Education (CME) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) are an integral part of maintaining certification with the CFPC throughout your career.
Read below to see a summary of the key information you need to know about all of these terms and how they affect you every year as a practicing Family Physician.
What are CME points?
CME Points are the credits that you need to maintain your Mainpro+ requirements as a member of the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC).
Who needs CME?
Every Canadian Family Physician! CME is important as one piece of self-regulation of the profession. It creates a process for continuous learning and a way to stay up to date with changes in practice.
In order to maintain your certification after passing your CCFP exam you need to ensure that you are completing the annual minimum requirements required for ongoing certification through CPD. If you want to continue to use the letters CCFP after your name, you need to continue to maintain certification with the CFPC.
How many CME credits do I need per year?
In order to fulfill your five-year cycle Mainpro+ requirements you need a minimum of 250 credits in total. Of those, 125 credits must be Certified and the rest can be certified or non-certified. Each year of the 5 year cycle must have at least 25 credits (certified or non-certified) and they need to be reported online.
How do you get CME points?
As a Resident you can start to collect your CME credits and use them toward your first 5 year cycle for recertification. Don't forget that credits from your ACLS and ATLS courses can count towards this total.
There are a number of ways to get your CME Points. The CFPC has a guide that outlines the different options under the categories of certified vs. non-certified and then further broken down into Group Learning, Self-Learning, and Assessment.
Do CME credits expire?
CME Credits don’t expire but they must be correctly entered in the system with the date they occurred for in-person or online courses/seminars.
How are CME credits calculated?
As you enter your CME Credits within MAINPRO+ they are approved and then summarized in a handy calculator-output so you can see exactly how you are progressing.
How to check CME credits
You can check your current status and cycle end dates on the CFPC website through their portal for MAINPRO+.
Conclusion
Looking to earn CME credits? Vital FM Update events provides CME Mainpro+ Credits and is the best way to stay up with the huge volumes of updates in Canadian Family Medicine!
Learn the latest in Family Practice for 2021 and earn CME credits through our energetic & engaging conference, streamed online.
