Category-1 CME

As part of Continuous Certification, the ABS requires diplomates to earn 150 credits of Category-1 CME over five years. The CME must be relevant to their practice, or if clinically inactive, to the broad discipline of surgery.

Category-1 CME activities are formal educational experiences accredited by the AMA, ACCME, RCPSC or EACCME. These may include seminars, conferences, grand rounds, webinars, podcasts, skills courses and departmental scientific meetings. Check with your CME provider or the ACCME’s CME Passport website to find CME activities that meet ABS Continuous Certification requirements.

CME courses completed for state licensing requirements and on topics such as ethics, patient safety, surgeon leadership, etc., are accepted. Diplomates who hold multiple ABS certificates do not have to repeat the CME requirement for each certificate.

The ABS expects that each CME credit corresponds to one hour of time spent on the activity. Therefore, the ABS will generally not accept more than 12 credits of CME earned in a single day.

Regularly Scheduled Series activities reporting Continuous Certification: 

These activities are planed with multiple, ongoing sessions, e.g., offered weekly, monthly, or quarterly. Sessions are primarily planned and presented by individual departments. For more information about these activities, please follow the link to the individual Series homepage or contact the Activity Director listed below. 

• Bariatric Mortality and Morbidity Conference 
  • David Parker, MD
• Bariatric Multidisciplinary Conference 
  • Anthony Petrick, MD 
• Children's Surgery Performance Improvement and Patient Safety (CS-PIPS) Meeting 
  • Kelly B. Smith, BSN, RN, CPN
• Geisinger Northeast Topics in General Surgery Review of Mortality and Morbidity 
  • Richard Lopez, MD
• General Surgery Regional Mortality and Morbidity 
  • John Semian, MD
  • Kathryn Jaap, MD
• GMC General Surgery Mortality and Morbidity 
  • Matthew Factor, MD
• GMC Trauma Mortality and Morbidity 
  • Kenneth Windom, MD 
• Pediatric Surgery Grand Rounds 
  • Kelly B. Smith, BSN, RN, CPN
• Vascular Institute Mortality and Morbidity 
  • James Elmore, MD 
• Vascular Institute Topics 
  • James Elmore, MD

The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and Geisinger Continuing Education share the expectation that providers evaluate the impact of educational interventions on the learner's knowledge, strategies/skills, performance, and/or patient outcomes in order to award learners Maintenance of Certification (MOC), or Continuing Medical Education (CME) credit. After each activity, the learner MUST complete a comprehensive evaluation form. This Microsoft form is made available to learners by the activity planning team. This evaluation is separate from the overall course evaluation which is tied to the course. Learners who do not complete the form will not be eligible for Continuous Certification credit and will not be reported to the American Board of Surgery.