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Chinatown is among the colorful and intriguing neighborhoods to be featured at the Streets of San Francisco-themed opening reception during the 2006 AANS Annual Meeting, April 22-27 in San Francisco. This meeting, entitled Meeting the Challenges of Neurosurgery: Expanding Resources for a Growing Population, kicks off celebration of the AANS 75th anniversary year; festivities will culminate with the 75th AANS Annual Meeting, April 14-19, 2007, in Washington, D.C. |
| San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau Photo |
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At the 2006 AANS Annual Meeting, completion of a single form will allow neurosurgeons to claim CME credit for the specific programs they attend. The Self-Report CME Tracking Form, shown in the sample on the opposite page, will be available in the on-site program book and at the AANS Resource Center located in the exhibit hall. An electronic version of the form will be available at www.MyAANS.org for online completion and submission.
The 2006 Annual Meeting Committee hit upon the simple four-step form after exploring a number of systems for verifying CME credit.
“After experiencing poor compliance with the ticketing system introduced at the 2004 meeting and observing long lines at other organizations’ programs where an electronic strip on each person’s name badge was scanned, we opted for this low-tech, one-page form,” said Nicholas Barbaro, MD, a member of the 2006 Annual Meeting Committee. “Rather than hunting for the right tickets every day or standing in line for every session, it’s much more convenient to think about this process just one time and then complete and submit the form in about five minutes.”
Until recently, meeting attendees were awarded CME credit based on the honor system. Registered neurosurgeons received full credit for attending plenary, scientific and section sessions held Monday through Thursday. What changed?
“While the AANS decides what constitutes neurosurgical credit counted toward its own Continuing Education Award in Neurosurgery, the AANS and other organizations like the American Medical Association must follow rules established by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education so that our programs can retain accreditation,” explained Joni Shulman, AANS associate executive director-education and meetings. “What changed was that a couple of years ago the ACCME tightened requirements for verification of attendance, and it became clear to all accredited organizations, including the AANS, that the honor system needed to be enhanced in order to comply with the ACCME requirements.”
As an augmented version of the honor system, the signed forms will be retained as evidence to auditors that each registrant’s attendance is verifiable. The forms will, however, be cross-checked with registration records.
“If a registrant doesn’t pick up the registration packet until Tuesday, CME credit for Monday’s sessions cannot be awarded,” Shulman said.
The perforated Self-Report CME Tracking form will be available near the back of the on-site program book, which attendees receive as part of the registration packet. On the reverse of the tracking form will be an overall meeting evaluation form, which all attendees also need to complete for the 2007 Annual Meeting Committee, which will rely on member input to plan the next meeting.
“We are hoping for 100 percent compliance so our members can be awarded the credit they earn,” Shulman said. “To make the process as convenient as possible, at the meeting completed forms can be dropped into marked receptacles or returned to the AANS Resource Center in the exhibit hall, and after the meeting the forms can be sent to the AANS, while the online form at MyAANS.org can be completed and submitted online at any time.”
CME credit for practical clinics held the weekend before the meeting and for breakfast seminars conducted during the meeting will continue to be issued to attendees whose purchased tickets are turned in at the sessions. Neurosurgeons have the opportunity to earn approximately 24 additional CME credits by attending these programs.
Manda J. Seaver is staff editor of the AANS Bulletin.