Join a Working Group at ACCME 2021; New PARS Improvements Coming This Summer; New Episode of Coffee with Graham: Public Health with Dr. Howard Koh
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News
NEW THIS YEAR AT ACCME 2021: WORKING GROUPS 
Working Groups are an exciting, optional opportunity for those who have registered for the ACCME 2021 Meeting. Joining a Working Group allows you to:
- Collaborate with colleagues to develop a new resource or tool for accredited continuing education providers
- Engage in a meaningful, longitudinal learning experience with a smaller group of peers seeking to address a specific topic
- Demonstrate leadership by learning with and from your colleagues for the benefit of the broader CE community
Space is limited! If you're interested in participating in a working group, you will need to select the Working Group Add-on ticket for $100 in addition to your general admission ticket during registration. If you’ve already registered and would like to add a Working Group to your registration, reach out to education@accme.org.
Additional details about the Working Groups can be found on the agenda page of our meeting website. Attendees may register and participate in only one Working Group.
For more information about the ACCME 2021 Meeting, visit www.accmemeeting.org.
COMING THIS SUMMER: PARS IMPROVEMENTS 
We’re excited to update you about our upcoming launch of ACCME’s new, improved Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). As we announced previously, our goal is to simplify the data-reporting process for CME providers and increase the value of data for stakeholders, including providers, clinicians, researchers, certifying and licensing boards, and government agencies. This initiative supports our strategic goal to advance data systems.
The new version of PARS will feature a modernized, user-friendly, streamlined interface for activity and learner reporting. Reflecting feedback that we’ve heard from providers and other stakeholders, the new version will:
- Include a dashboard for your CME program
- Provide expanded capability for generating reports
- Simplify data entry for activities that span multiple years
- Enable providers to choose to display any of their activities in CME Finder
- Simplify options for entering learner data
- Enable providers to register activities for maintenance of certification using an Excel template
We’ll also introduce a more robust version of CME Finder, enabling clinicians to more easily search for accredited CME activities that address their needs. Read more about these updates here.
Educational Opportunities
GETTING STARTED WITH JOINT ACCREDITATION FOR INTERPROFESSIONAL CONTINUING EDUCATION™ 
Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™ is hosting an introductory virtual workshop on March 19, 2021, from 10:00 am–2:00 pm CT. During this virtual event, we will explore the basics and benefits of Joint Accreditation as well as answer questions about the Joint Accreditation process. It is designed for organizations in the initial stages of the application process as well as organizations that are considering applying for Joint Accreditation.
During the workshop, we will discuss:
- Value & benefits of Joint Accreditation
- Eligibility criteria
- Application process and timeline
- Joint Accreditation Criteria
There is a registration fee of $75 per person for this workshop. For more information or to register for the workshop, please visit this webpage.
If you have questions about the Getting Started with Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education™ workshop, please contact Marcia Martin at mmartin@accme.org.
Tips and Tools
LEARN TO VACCINATE: EDUCATOR RESOURCES 
We appreciate the expertise of the continuing education community as you disseminate urgently needed, evidence-based content to encourage healthcare professionals to get vaccinated and educate their patients about vaccination. To support the efforts of the continuing education community, we’re continuing to update our COVID-19 educator resources here.
For a searchable list of accredited continuing education activities and other resources for clinicians, visit LearnToVaccinate.org. Please use the LearnToVaccinate.org Resource Submission Form to submit your activities and resources for posting on LearnToVaccinate.org.
Has your team developed effective approaches for designing and delivering education about the COVID-19 vaccines? We want to hear from you! Please use this form to submit your experience.
Reminders for Accredited Providers
COMPLETE YOUR 2020 YEAR-END REPORTING IN PARS
To meet your year-end reporting requirements, you must enter data for your 2020 activities and your 2020 program summary in ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS) by March 31, 2021, but you are encouraged to complete data entry as soon as possible. Providers accredited by a state medical society may be required to complete their 2020 year-end report earlier and should check with their Recognized Accreditor.
For more information and links to educational resources, please visit our Data Reporting Requirements and PARS Resources pages.
Connect with Us
COFFEE WITH GRAHAM 
In episode 15, Dr. Graham McMahon discusses public health and the COVID-19 vaccines with Dr. Howard Koh, Professor at Harvard University’s T. H. Chan School of Public Health and former Assistant Secretary for Health, US Dept. of Health and Human Services (Obama Administration).
“Our good health is a gift; we cannot take it for granted. The best way to protect that gift is through the power of prevention and public health.” -Dr. Howard Koh
Listen to the full episode here.
Career Opportunities 
We are seeking a Program Support Analyst to provide support for ACCME providers, collaboration partners, staff, and volunteers in their use and understanding of ACCME’s Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS).
For Your Reference
- CDC’s Public Health Training: The site, updated monthly, offers curated public health learning opportunities, including continuing education, as well as tools and resources to help you develop quality training.
- Addressing COVID-19 Vaccination Questions in Communities of Color: This site, published by the American Hospital Association (AHA), includes resources to assist hospitals and health systems engage with their communities of color to engender trust and empower informed decision-making that can protect individuals, loved ones, and those disproportionately suffering from COVID-19.
- Cologne Consensus Conference A Meeting of the International Academy for CPD Accreditation A World Apart: We Are Together: This report, published in the Journal of European CME, summarizes the 2020 Cologne Consensus Conference, including a description of the final Standards for Substantive Equivalency between Continuing Professional Development/Continuing Medical Education (CPD/CME) Accreditation Systems. The ACCME is proud to collaborate in this initiative and to endorse the Standards.
- Continuing Education Request for Applications for Opioid Analgesic REMS: The grant application process is now open for continuing education activities that are compliant with the Opioid Analgesic Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (OA REMS). Submissions are due by March 11, 2021 (11:59 pm ET). The goal of the grants is to support high-quality REMS-compliant accredited continuing education for prescribers and other healthcare professionals on the treatment and monitoring of patients with pain. To be eligible, the
continuing education must be based solely on the Opioid Analgesics REMS Education Blueprint for Health Care Providers Involved in the Treatment and Monitoring of Patients with Pain that was approved by the FDA in September 2018. For more information about CME for OA REMS, visit our webpage here.