Amount of Prescribed CME Credit Awarded for ABFM SAMs Drops

Family physicians who complete a self-assessment module, or SAM, in 2011 as a component of the American Board of Family Medicine's Maintenance of Certification Program for Family Physicians, or ABFM MC-FP, will receive 12 AAFP Prescribed CME credits instead of the 15 Prescribed credits previously awarded.

According to Kathleen Marian, M.Ed., AAFP manager of CME Compliance and Systems, the Academy's Division of Continuing Medical Education made the change after the ABFM provided the Academy with information that indicated learners, on average, completed the modules in slightly less than 12 hours.

The AAFP awards CME credit on an hour-for-hour basis for time spent in formal educational activities.

The SAMs are required under MC-FP Part II -- self-assessment and lifelong learning -- and include two parts: a knowledge assessment and a clinical simulation. The knowledge assessment evaluates an ABFM diplomate's knowledge in a particular care domain, such as asthma, coronary artery disease or diabetes. The clinical simulation presents patient care scenarios corresponding to that care domain.