NC-CME Announces the Results of the First Certification Exam for CME Professionals: Offers Validation of Competency

Business Wire, July 16, 2008

SANDIA PARK, N.M. -- The National Commission for Certification of CME Professionals (NC-CME) has completed the first two waves of examinations for persons who are employed in the continuing medical education (CME) field. The results of the May beta tests and June exam periods were combined, using the Modified Angoff Method (most prevalent method of standard setting for multiple-choice exams in use today), to establish a pass/fail score. The credential is expected to become an important measure of competence for the professionals who develop CME for the more than 700,000 practicing physicians in the United States.

With an increasing level scrutiny by academia, government and the public, educators and their funding sources have been exhorted to demonstrate the integrity of CME initiatives. The NC-CME certification program will benefit the public health by offering stakeholders a way to verify the knowledge and skills of CME staff. The examination will allow employers to monitor and document their ability to be compliant with national guidelines developed by the Accreditation Council for CME (ACCME), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS OIG).

Of the 79 CME professionals who sat for the exam, 70 received a passing score. This required test takers to achieve a minimum scaled passing score of 600, where the overall range of scaled scores was 200 to 1000. "The key point is that this is a criterion-referenced exam like SAT and ACT," remarked Judy Ribble, PhD, Executive Director of NC-CME. "In criterion-referenced exams, the goal is pass/fail discrimination only. Every candidate that achieves the minimum score is deemed to be minimally competent, and there is no ranking or rating of individuals."

To celebrate the achievement of the national certification exam for CME professionals, and to recognize those who earned the CCMEP credential, a ceremony will be held on October 21st prior to the opening session of the AMA Taskforce Meeting on Industry/Provider Collaboration in Baltimore, Maryland.

Moving forward, the validated certification exam will be available at more than 200 Schroeder Measurement Technologies Test Centers throughout the US during two remaining time periods in 2008: September 13-30, and December 13-30. Cut off dates for registrations are August 31st and November 30th, respectively.

Names of all individuals who successfully passed the exam are available at www.NC-CME.org as of July 15th.

NC-CME is a private, non-profit, tax-exempt organization created in 2006 by an independent group of CME professionals committed to serving the public by creating a standard of competence for persons who create, deliver, and/or support CME programs. NC-CME is incorporated in New Mexico and operates under Section 501(c) (3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States. For further information, go to www.NC-CME.org