A new interactive approach to Continuous Medical Education (CME) Journal CME

Abstract

This article introduces the new Continuing Medical Education (CME) section of the interactive Journal of Radiology Case Reports. This section provides SA-CMEs which are a new requirement for Maintenance of Certification (MOC) by the American Board of Radiology (ABR) and other medical specialties.

Since its introduction almost 10 years ago, the Journal of Radiology Case Reports (JRCR)[1] has been known as an interactive and innovative peer-reviewed journal even beyond the Radiology community. And since its PubMed indexing it has been also established next to well recognized Radiology journals and as a leading academic and clinically relevant journal because of its multitude of educational and interactive features. These include the unique interactive image stacks which allow viewing the cases as on the reader’s workstation with scroll, window/level and more valuable features. But also the teaching points, high yield tables and multiple choice questions make this journal and each article not only educational but also more interesting to read.

The journal team did not stop at this point and worked on new ideas how to bring this journal with all its academic features to a new level. Finally, in my role as editor-in-chief, I am happy to announce that we have launched this month a new section for the Journal of Radiology Case Reports: Journal CME[2].

Journal CME

Journal CME can be accessed at www.JournalCME.com and is a new educational section of the Journal of Radiology Case Reports which concentrates the academic and interactive features. However, Journal CME goes further and provides in addition practical value to the practitioner by offering health care providers a convenient way to obtain their needed Continuous Medical Education (CME) credits. In that regard, the Journal of Radiology Case Reports is working together with the University of Nevada as our partnering CME accredited institution.

Open Access

We continue our open access spirit and provide free access to many sections on the site. In example, reading the articles and browsing through our educational material is free to use. The user may also perform self-exams for free. If the user wishes to obtain CME credits for such exams, then these need to be purchased.

New ABR requirements SA-CME

We were planning ahead when we launched this journal years ago and require multiple choice questions (MCQs) for submitted articles. And not only 1 or 2 MCQ, but exactly 5. Reason for that is that this makes us eligible for SA-CME (self-assessment continuing medical education) and potential further new Board requirements. SA-CME has been recently introduced by the American Board of Radiology (ABR)[3] and replaces practically Self-Assessment Modules (SAMs)[4]. SA-CME is a special form of CME. According to the recently adopted American Medical Association (AMA)[5] policy for CME, these activities require an assessment of the learner that measures achievement of the educational purpose and/or objective(s) of the activity with an established minimum performance level (such as a pre- and post-test). CMEs obtained through Journal CME satisfy such requirements.

Who needs SA-CME?

Certain medical specialties (such as Radiology) require SA-CMEs beside the “regular” CMEs. Please check with your specialty Board about SA-CME requirements.

In example, the ABR requires radiologists to earn 75 CME credits every three years, at least 25 of which must be credits for self-assessment activities. These SA-CMEs require higher standards than regular CMEs, which are outlined on the ABR MOC website[3].

The PubMed indexed Journal of Radiology Case Reports provides with Journal CME hundreds of such SA-CMEs.

Further explanations about the process how to obtain CMEs can be found in the FAQ section of the Journal CME site [6].

Figure 1.

Screenshot of the Journal CME startpage accessible at http://www.JournalCME.com.