Specialist, Continuing Medical Education and Maintenance of Certification

Founded in 1934, the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) is a not-for-profit, professional association committed to advancing the specialty of rheumatology.  Headquartered in Atlanta, GA, this medical society serves over 7,700 physicians, health professionals, and scientists worldwide who work in the medical subspecialty of rheumatology. 

The College along with its interprofessional division, the Association of Rheumatology Professionals (ARP) aims to empower the professional rheumatology community by providing education, advocacy, and practice management tools.

The ACR is a unique non-profit organization looking to offer its employees opportunities to exhibit their commitment to accountability, creativity, and initiative. To find out more about the ACR, please visit www.rheumatology.org.

The Rheumatology Research Foundation was founded by the ACR in 1985 as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. The ACR and Foundation have a management agreement, whereby the ACR provides the Foundation with a variety of management services, including staffing, access to and use of computer and other equipment and appropriate space at the ACR's Executive Office.

POSITION DESCRIPTION

TITLE: Continuing Medical Education and Maintenance of Certification Specialist

STATUS: Non-Exempt

LEVEL: Specialist

DIRECT SUPERVISOR: Director, Content Strategy & Development

POSITION DESCRIPTION SUMMARY:

American College of Rheumatology provides medical educational activities to our members and non-members as it relates to maintenance of CME and MOC certification with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM).  This position works as a part of our Content Development team within the Education Department to ensure that all ACR Educational activities are compliant with ACCME and ABIM criteria and standards ensuring the ACR continues to maintain accreditation for providing high quality medical education to our members.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Responsible for working with Director, Content Strategy & Development to ensure understanding ACCME and ABIM policies and conveying that understanding to staff and committees appropriately to  ensure compliance / adherence to policies:
  • Keeping abreast of changes in ACCME and ABIM policies, interpreting accreditation regulations and providing training to all staff and committee members with respect to activity development and implementation to ensure compliance
  • Maintaining and updating the standard operating procedure, policies templates, forms and materials for the development and implementation of CME/MOC activities to reflect most current policies
  • Accountable for ensuring final activity reports are completed and reviewed with Director within 90 days post-activity for all ACR Educational Activities (meetings, courses etc. originating from any department in the organization.)
  • Creating and maintaining list of CME/MOC Activities, credit hours for attendees/participants of activities and CME/MOC files for all activities
  • Provide input to Data/Analytics and Program Management for learner evaluations, pre and post-tests in efforts to ensure compliance with ACCME and ABIM guidance and ACR practices and policies
• Work with Corporate Support and Program Managers to ensure all procedures relating to corporate support for Education Department activities comply with ACCME/MOC criteria and standards
  • Using needs assessment information from program planning process, write grant applications and/or provide direction to medical writers to write grant applications for Education Department activities that position ACR to generate grant revenue in alignment with program goals
  • Submit grant applications to Corporate Support in accordance with agreed upon timelines and following ACCME and ABIM criteria and standards as well as ACR guidelines/procedures
  • Maintain educational grant activity files for all Education Department educational activities
• Assist with the development, implementation and administration of CPD online educational activities including ACR’s self-assessment programs by ensuring that ACCME and ABIM criteria and standards are followed and fully documented through the application process for each CPD CME/MOC activity.
• Administer policies and procedures related to the ACCME Essential Areas and Elements and Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education & ABIM e.g., disclosure collection, analysis and conflict of interest resolution management and documentation.  Duties include but are not limited to:
• Coordinate and Manage the CME Subcommittee and Review Processes for Disclosures and Presentations for adherence to ACCME and ABIM criteria and standards partnering with the Delivery team and project management on timing relative to overall activity schedule
• Directly responsible for COE disclosure collection and reviews
• Management of needs assessments and activity files as follows:
• Own creation and management of needs assessments for Education Department activities through entire lifecycle starting with activity planning.  Responsibility includes ensuring solid understanding of Moore's 7 Levels for outcomes
• Provide guidance/guidelines to Business Owners outside Education Department for development of needs assessments for their activities.
• Provide counsel to planning committees and staff regarding the planning process, development, and evaluation of CME activities including but not limited to:
• Ensuring that the educational needs are linked to the objectives, content, and outcomes; ensuring that appropriate evaluation tools are developed during the planning process
• Ensuring all CME activities are consistent with the expressed needs of the target audience(s) as prescribed in the mission statement and identified by needs assessment sources
• Maintain CME/MOC activity files for all educational activities."
• Determines CME/MOC credit amounts for educational activities to award single profession (e.g. physicians) and/or interprofessional continuing education credit (IPCE) to other healthcare providers (e.g. nurses, pharmacists, PA's, etc.) and submits/obtains separate accreditations and or Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education when needed.
• Business owner for evaluating program content and determining amount of CME/MOC credits are applicable for activities and their audiences
• Sets up records/activities in PARS and works with Learning Platform Admin to ensure appropriate records are setup in various systems and tested to enable proper credit claiming.
• Produce applications as needed for accreditations and or Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education 
• Responsible for reporting related to CME/MOC including but not limited to:
• Developing the ACR’s Self Study Report, Performance-in-Practice Review, and the Accreditation Interview under the direction of Director, Content Strategy & Development
• Prepare records for annual ACCME Pars and ABIM reporting
• Compiling and developing annual reports on the CME/MOC program with analysis of program’s outcomes and accomplishments
• Attend COE Meetings and record meeting minutes accurately and in approved format.  Publish to Education Leadership for within two weeks of meeting to ensure time for review and edits before publishing within 30 days of meeting.

​QUALIFICATIONS:

• Five (5) years’ experience working with the CME and MOC process required
• BS/BA in related discipline or equivalent, related experience; certification preferred
• Comprehensive knowledge of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) Accreditation Criteria, including the Standards for Commercial Support; the American Medical Association (AMA) Physician’s Recognition Award and Credit System for Continuing Medical Education (CME); and the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) Program required
• Excellent interpersonal skills with demonstrated ability to work with multi-level staff, volunteers, members, and vendors tactfully and efficiently
• Clear oral and written communication including experience communicating with internal and external teams that may involve project coordination, information sharing and resolution of problems
• Project management skills with the ability to balance multiple priorities and meet deadlines
• Detailed-oriented and a self-starter with the ability to work independently, effectively organize and exercise judgment in prioritizing responsibilities
• Extensive experience with Microsoft Office programs is essential, including Excel, Internet Explorer, PowerPoint, Outlook, Word and online databases.  Experience in Google Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and JIRA or other ticketing software is preferred.

The ACR provides equal employment opportunities (EEO) to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, marital status, amnesty, or status as a covered veteran in accordance with applicable federal, state, and local laws. The ACR complies with applicable state and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in every location in which the company has facilities or conducts business.

This is not a contract. The description and duties as they relate to this position are subject to change as reasonable business necessity dictates. In the event of such changes, a new job description may be created