Glossary
Certificate refers to a document that provides evidence that an individual attended a CME course that is sponsored by and certified for AMA Category 1 Credit by the Vanderbilt School of Medicine. Two types of certificates are offered: physicians (MDs and DOs) receive a certificate that awards them AMA Category 1 Credit for the number of credits that they claim; all others receive a certificate of attendance.
CME Associates are the staff responsible for administering CME-certified activities. This includes using VCME resources to meet accreditation guidelines in a timely manner; it does not include the determination of content for a course.
CME Course Directors are faculty responsible for the content of CME-certified activities. It is also their responsibility to review presentations and assist their CME Associates in meeting accreditation guidelines as necessary.
Commercial support is defined as financial, or in-kind, contributions given by a commercial interest, which is used to pay all or part of the costs of a CME activity; typically this support is requested via an online application. Commercial support is also referred to as “educational grants” or simply “grants;” however, grants from non-profit organizations, including governmental agencies, are exempt from the ACCME’s definition of commercial support and guidelines.
Conflict of interest is when an individual’s interests are aligned with those of a commercial entity, thus making the interests of the individual in ‘conflict’ with the interests of the public. Financial relationships create actual conflicts of interest in CME when individuals have both a financial relationship with a commercial interest and the opportunity to affect the content of CME with products or services of that commercial interest. The potential for maintaining or increasing the value of the financial relationship with the commercial interest creates an incentive to influence the content of CME – an incentive to insert commercial bias.
Continuing Medical Education (CME) consists of educational activities that serve to maintain, develop or increase the knowledge, skills and professional performance and relationships that a physician uses to provide services for patients, the public, or the profession. The content of CME is that body of knowledge and skills generally recognized and accepted by the profession as within the basic medical sciences, the discipline of clinical medicine, and the provision of healthcare to the public.
Departmentally managed activities are typically one-to-three day conferences planned and implemented by Vanderbilt faculty and staff. The target audience for these conferences is typically non-Vanderbilt physicians.
Exhibits are on-site opportunities for representatives from pharmaceutical companies or medical device manufacturers to interact with attendees at departmentally managed or jointly sponsored activities. The purchase of exhibit space by representatives, or exhibitors, constitutes an exchange of goods: space in return for a fee paid directly to you.
Jointly sponsored activities are those for which the primary content planning and implementation are the responsibility of a non-Vanderbilt organization that is also a non-profit, non-ACCME accredited provider. The target audience for these conferences is typically non-Vanderbilt physicians.
Objectives are statements that clearly describe what the learner will know or be able to do after participating in the CME activity. The statements should result from the needs assessment data.
Regularly scheduled series (RSS) are typically weekly or monthly CME activities that are planned by and presented to Vanderbilt School of Medicine faculty. RSS include, but are not limited to, grand rounds, tumor boards, journal clubs, M&M conferences, case conferences, and user group meetings.
Transcript is a summary listing of activities sponsored and certified for AMA Category 1 Credit by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and attended by an individual physician or other health professional.
