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FAQs - Continuing Medical Education (CME)

Visit ACCME's CME Passport to search the list of CME activities that earn you credit towards ABS CC requirements.

You can filter the list of activities by fields such as specialty, accredited CME provider (for example, professional membership organization and/or affiliation), activity type, credit type, fee and location.

You can also contact the accredited CME provider to inquire about ABS CC eligibility for a specific activity.

Through the ABS's collaboration with the ACCME, the accredited CME provider is responsible for collecting and submitting your activity completion information, and will then upload the information so that it appears automatically in your ABS portal.

When you register for an accredited CME activity, you will need to give the CME provider your first name, last name and month and day of birth. CME providers may ask for your ABS Candidate ID# when you register for the activity, which can be found in the blue bar at the top of the page when you log in to your ABS portal. If you have questions about this process, please contact the accredited CME provider to inquire about how to claim CC credit for a specific activity.

Accredited CME providers are asked to report CME credits in ACCME's system within 30 days of completion of the activity. Please contact the CME provider for questions about their timeframe for submitting completion information for a specific activity.

CME providers are encouraged to submit completion information as soon as possible after the CME activity is completed, so that diplomates receive their credit quickly. CME earned for activities completed by December 31 of a given year will count for that year.

Diplomates can also check to see if the CME provider has submitted completion information by logging in to their ABS portal and navigating to the CME Repository.
No, the ABS does not accept physical certificates in lieu of credit entry. Credits must be submitted by the accredited CME provider through the ACCME or transferred through the American College of Surgerons (ACS) process.
The accredited CME provider determines the deadline for claiming credit for an activity. It is best to contact the CME provider to inquire about the deadline for a specific CME activity.

CME credit registration is open to all CME providers accredited within the ACCME system. The CME providers determine which of their activities meet ABS’s requirements in support of physician engagement in lifelong learning and quality improvement.

Once an activity has ended, it is no longer searchable in CME Passport. Contact the CME provider to inquire about ABS CC eligibility for a specific activity.

All accredited AMA PRA Category 1TM CME activities are eligible for ABS CC credit. Some activities may also meet the requirements to grant ABS self-assessment credit. Eligible activities may include live and online courses, attending society meetings, Grand Rounds, Quality/Performance improvement, and more. No matter the type of activity, it must be registered within the ACCME’s system for that information to be automatically transferred to the ABS on your behalf.

Visit ACCME's CME Passport to search the list of CME activities that earn you credit towards ABS CC requirements.

As part of the ABS's ongoing commitment to reduce the administrative burden on diplomates and enhance the value of the ABS Continuous Certification Program, as of July 1, 2023, all CME will be automatically transferred to the ABS through the ACCME, and the manual CME reporting feature is no longer necessary.

The ABS has an obligation to ensure that decisions that are made about our diplomates’ certification are based in fact. The ACCME collaboration provides primary source verified data regarding CME credit earned by our diplomates, an important feature that is not provided by the self-reporting tool.

This collaboration with the ACCME has been active for almost two years, and to date there have been over 150 providers who have registered over 1,700 activities for ABS Continuous Certification.

When you register for an accredited CME activity, you will need to give the CME provider:

  • first name
  • last name
  • month and day of birth
  • permission to share this information with the ACCME and the ABS

Please contact your CME provider to ensure their participation with the ACCME for direct transfer of ABS diplomate CME activity. If your accredited CME provider has any questions or concerns about this process, they should contact the ACCME directly at info@accme.org.

With the move to the automatic transfer of CME credits through the ACCME, the traditional transfer methods through other organizations are also being phased out.

However, the ACS process will differ slightly.The ACS has introduced an updated process to transmit CME credit from ACS MyCME to the ABS (via the ACCME) to align with the new process. ACS members must log into ACS MyCME, provide their ABS ID, select the date range for CME credit earned, and grant permission for the data transfer. This is intended to be as seamless as the previous transfer process, while still offering all of the benefits associated with ACS MyCME.

Moving forward, accredited providers should collect the following information from learners during CME activity registration to report their earned CME credit

  • first name
  • last name
  • month and day of birth
  • permission to share this information with the ACCME and the ABS

CME organizations are asked to report completed CME credits to the ACCME within 30 days of successful completion of the activity.

If your organization has any questions or concerns about this process, they should contact the ACCME directly at info@accme.org.


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