CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION

HOURS REQUIRED

Seventy-five hours of continuing medical education are required for each licensed physician during each triennial renewal cycle. CME may be earned at any time during the licensees three year renewal period, July 1 through June 30, immediately preceding the triennial renewal date.

EXCEPTIONS

CME is not required until the physician has been licensed in NM for consecutive years. The first license renewal occurs no later than 13 months after initial licensure, so CME is not required at the first renewal.

CME is not required for federal emergency, telemedicine, postgraduate training, public service, or temporary teaching, youth camp, or school licenses.

Physician assistants fulfill their CME requirements through the NCCPA and are not required to submit any CME documentation directly to the Medical Board.

A physician practicing or residing outside the United States is not required to fulfill the CME requirements for the period of the absence. However, the Board must be notified of the absence prior to license expiration. Once the physician returns to the US, the required CME must be completed for the months or years of practice within the US during that renewal cycle.

FULFILL YOUR COMPLETE TRIENNIAL CME REQUIREMENTS BY OBTAINING:

  • the AMA Physician Recognition Award
  • the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) certificate of continuing education, or
  • Certification or re-certification by an ABMS approved specialty board during the renewal period.

OR

COMBINE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING COURSES AND ACTIVITIES FOR A TOTAL OF 75 HOURS TO COMPLETE YOUR TRIENNIAL CME REQUIREMENTS:

  • AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. Clinical courses certified by an accredited sponsor of the AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ are acceptable for credit.
  • NM category 1. Clinical courses certified by the New Mexico medical society continuing medical education committee as meeting the criteria for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, but certified as New Mexico category 1 specific, are acceptable for credit. New Mexico specific CME issued by the Medical Board for service on an Impaired Physician Committee are also acceptable.
  • Post graduate education. Forty (40) credit hours per year are allowed for participation in a postgraduate education program, which has been approved by the Board or by the AMA liaison committee on graduate medical education. This category includes internships, residencies and fellowships.
  • Advanced degrees. Forty (40) credit hours are allowed for each full academic year of study toward an advanced degree in a medical field or a medically-related field as approved by the board.
  • Self assessment tests. Self-assessment examinations certified for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, by an accredited sponsor of continuing medical education are acceptable if the examination is scored by an educational entity approved by the board.
  • Teaching. One credit hour is allowed for each hour of teaching medical students or physicians in a United States medical school, an approved internship or residency, or for teaching in other programs approved by the Board, for a maximum of forty (40) credit hours in any three-year reporting period.
  • Physician preceptors. A maximum of thirty (30) hours of credit during a three-year reporting period is acceptable for licensed physicians who are acting as preceptors for students enrolled in an accredited medical or physician assistant school.
  • Papers and publications. Ten (10) hours of credit are allowed for each original scientific medical paper or publication written by a licensee. For acceptance, papers must have been presented to a recognized national, international, regional or state society, or organization whose membership is primarily physicians; or must have been published in a recognized medical or medically-related scientific journal. Material used in a paper or publication may be given credit one time. A maximum of thirty (30) hours credit may be claimed during each three-year reporting period.
  • Cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Credit may be claimed during each three-year reporting period for successful completion of ACLS (advanced cardiac life support), PALS (pediatric advanced life support), ATLS (advanced trauma life support), NALS (neonatal advanced life support), and ALSO (advanced life support in obstetrics) courses.
  • During each renewal cycle credit will be given for CME that has been obtained using the Internet. Hours obtained online must be approved by the AMA or state equivalent as AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™.

VERIFICATION OF CME AND ANNUAL CME AUDIT

Each physician renewing a license shall attest that they have obtained the required hours of CME. Documentation of CME is not required unless you are selected for the annual CME compliance audit. If you are selected for audit, you will be notified and provided with instructions for compliance. The Board may audit CME records at any time, so CME records must be maintained for at least one year following the renewal cycle in which they are earned.

Physicians who attest on their renewal application that they have obtained the required hours of CME but are then unable to provide documentation of those hours face possible disciplinary action by the Board.

ACCEPTABLE DOCUMENTATION OF CME INCLUDES:

  • Photocopies of original certificates or official letters from course sponsors or online providers. The physician’s name and date of the course must appear on the certificate.
  • Postgraduate CME hours must be documented and attested either by the dean of the medical school, the chief of service, the course director, or an equivalent authority.
  • Advanced degree studies must be documented and attested either by the dean of the medical school, the chief of service, the course director, or an equivalent authority.
  • Teaching hours must be documented and attested either by the dean of the medical school, the chief of service, the course director, or an equivalent authority.
  • Preceptor hours must be documented and attested either by the dean of the medical school, the chief of service, the course director, or an equivalent authority.
  • Papers or publications must be documented by submission of an official, printed copy, with reference citation, to the Board.

EMERGENCY DEFERRAL

A physician who is unable to fulfill the CME requirements prior to the date of license expiration may apply to the Board for an emergency deferral of the requirements. The request for deferral must be received no later than July 1 of the renewal year. NOTE: all physicians who are granted an emergency deferral will be automatically included in the CME audit at their next license renewal.

In case of illness or other documented circumstances, the Board may grant an additional extension of time in which the necessary credits may be earned. The request must be made in writing prior to the end of the emergency deferral, and must be approved by the Board.

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS please contact Samantha Breen at samantha.breen@state.nm.us or (505) 476-7227.

Complete New Mexico Medical Board Rules and Statutes may be accessed on our web site, www.nmmb.state.nm.us.


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