Operational Guidelines for ACEP Support of International Meetings

Important: Make a Request for ACEP Endorsement of your International Conference.

ACEP Recognized Event – sponsor may not use ACEP in their promotional materials. The conference is listed in the College’s Master Events Calendar, the Section on International Emergency Medicine (Section) Meetings Calendar, and may be listed in an ad with photo on the International Education web page. Requires approval by the Section on International Emergency Medicine Steering Committee (ISSC). Confirmation: E-mail over ISSC chair signature sent to sponsor by ACEP staff.

ACEP Endorsed Event – permits sponsor to utilize the ACEP logo in conference promotion materials and the phrase, “Endorsed by the American College of Emergency Physicians” in brochure and ad copy. The conference is listed in the College’s Master Events Calendar, the Section Meetings Calendar, and may be listed in an ad with photo on the International Education web page. Requires approval by the President. Confirmation: E-mail over President’s signature sent to sponsor by ACEP staff.

ACEP Co-Sponsored Event – provides the same entitlements as ACEP Endorsement, but may include ACEP Category I CME credit for programs that already have AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM through an ACCME accredited provider (outside ACEP) and have been planned and implemented in accordance with ACCME guidelines. Co-sponsored conferences may also receive somewhat greater marketing support. Requires approval by the President. Confirmation: E-mail and letter over President’s signature sent by ACEP staff.

Overview

The ISSC will review all requests for support of International Conferences and make recommendations to the President that ACEP support or not support the conference in one of the above manners.

ACEP Recognized Event

  • Requests should be submitted 6 months prior to the conference but will be considered if submitted within 90 days of the conference.
  • It must be clear to the organizers that NO CME will be offered by ACEP for physicians who may attend the conference; however CME credit may be provided by another organization.
  • A designated Section member will review the request and make a recommendation to the Section chair and ACEP staff. If approved, the conference will be added to the ACEP calendar.

ACEP Endorsement of International Conferences

The ISSC will review all requests for endorsement and make recommendations to the President.

  • Requests should be submitted 6 months prior to the conference but will be considered if submitted within 90 days of the conference.
  • It will be made clear to the organizers that NO CME will be offered by ACEP for physicians who may attend the conference; however CME credit may be provided by another organization. In addition, if the organizers intend to promote ACEP endorsement, any materials promoting the conference to physicians must indicate that ACEP will not provide CME credit.
  • A designated Section member who is participating in the international conference planning must review the structure of the conference and prepare a request form for the planned conference to submit to the ISSC. If there is not a Section member involved, the ISSC will appoint a member to serve in this capacity.
  • The request form should include the primary planning organization as well as a list of sponsoring organizations, meeting chair, target audience, and anticipated number of participants, conference goals, conference educational schedule, and a brief summary showing that the conference has a significant education value. The conference should promote and contribute towards emergency medicine specialty development.
  • The ISSC will provide their recommendations to the ACEP President within 30 days of receipt of the application.
  • ACEP President will make a decision on endorsement (within 30 days).
  • Follow-up: Designated Section member must attend the conference and provide follow-up to the ISSC. A brief report will be submitted to the ISSC stating whether the planning goals were met as well as making recommendations for future endorsement.

ACEP Co-Sponsorship of International Educational Programs

All programs selected by ACEP for co-sponsorship will be selected based on criteria determined by the College. The College will not approve conferences held outside of the United States for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™. It may, however, approve programs that already have AMA PRA Category 1 CreditTM from an ACCME accredited provider (outside of ACEP) for ACEP Category I CME credit. Program applications will be accepted and reviewed according to the following guidelines set forth by the College.

  • Requests should be submitted 6 months prior to the conference but will be considered if submitted within 90 days of the conference.
  • A Letter of Agreement (LOA) between all parties will be required in advance of the program planning process. ACEP and the International partner’s name must appear on all promotional and program material.
  • Requests for co-sponsorship of international educational programs will be reviewed by the ISSC.
  • The ISSC’s final recommendation will be based on several factors including but not limited to: how the program advances the specialty, the financial ability of the international co-sponsor to successfully implement the program, the reputation of the international co-sponsor in the medical community, past experience working with the international co-sponsor and their ability to comply with the co-sponsorship guidelines.
  • The ISSC’s final recommendation will be submitted to the ACEP President for final approval. ACEP reserves the right to determine which programs will be granted co-sponsorship.

In addition to the above referenced requirements, all who wish to offer ACEP Category I CME credit must comply with the following application procedures.

  • All programs applying for ACEP Category I CME credit must:
    • Be approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ by an ACCME accredited provider (outside of ACEP).
    • Meet the needs of emergency physicians.
  • To apply for ACEP Category I CME credit for an ACCME accredited program, the program director must complete ACEP’s online application process for an ACEP Category I meeting at least 30 days prior to the program start date in order to avoid rush fees. The application process includes the following:
    • Completion of ACEP’s online CME application.
    • Upload completed program time schedule.
    • Upload overall narrative description of the content to be covered.
    • Upload overall learning objectives.
    • Upload individual narrative descriptions for each lecture.
    • Upload individual learning objectives for each lecture.
    • Upload complete faculty list.
    • Upload copy of AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ award letter or ACCME accreditation certificate.
    • Payment of $175.00 application fee.

Additional Information for Co-Sponsored Activities

Failure to comply with all ACEP guidelines and processes established by the College and communicated to the International co-sponsor will result in denial of all future requests for co-sponsorship by ACEP and if applicable the immediate removal of ACEP Category I CME credit for the identified program. In the event of immediate removal of ACEP credit, the International co-sponsor would be required to immediately communicate this action to all potential registrants.

All those interested in applying for ACEP Category I CME credit may contact the ACEP CME Approval Coordinator for additional information on the application process and specific guidelines. All those granted co-sponsorship or co-organization will be provided with a complete set of guidelines and forms. The fee structure for co-sponsorship of international education programs will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

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