Category 1 PI-CME and Self Assessment CME are now part of our CME requirements as a physician assistant. In 2014, PAs started to transition to a new certification maintenance process. As part of this new process, PAs must earn 20 credits of Category 1 PI-CME and/or Self Assessment CME every two years. As much as it’s a bit confusing, I think it’s great for our profession.
There are two major changes with the new CME requirements:

1. We now have to take the PANRE every 10 years. As I just took my PANRE today, I am good until 2025! Wow.
2. We will still have to earn 100 CME credits every two years, but there are two new categories added called Self Assessment (SA) and Performance Improvement CME (PI-CME). Within the 50 credits required for Category 1, 20 of them will have to be earned via AAPA accredited Self Assessment and/or PI-CME activities.

This is a little confusing to me, so here it is from the AAPA’s website:

In every two-year CME cycle, PAs can earn a combination of PI-CME and self assessment credit, or just concentrate on one of those activities. However, at the end of eight years (four two-year CME cycles), PAs must have earned at least 40 Category 1 CME credits through self- assessment and at least 40 Category 1 CME credits through PI-CME activities.

There are no self assessment or PI-CME requirements in the fifth CME cycle (years 9 and 10). During the fifth CME cycle PAs only need to earn the traditional 100 CME credits, with at least 50 being Category 1. That leaves PAs free to choose whatever form of CME is most helpful to them during the two-year timeframe for their recertification exam.

So, as I just recertified, in the next 10 years I will need 500 hours of category 1 CME l. (That’s 100 hours logged every 2 years. Remember, 50 hours have to be category 1 and 50 are category 2.)
I will need a total of 40 credits from PI-CME and 40 credits from self-assessment by my recertification in 2025. Ok, got it. Now let’s find these credits and get to work.

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