As of January 1, 2004 Diplomates of the American Board of Clinical Chemistry must document 50 contact hours of continuing education (CE) credit every two years in order to maintain listing in the directory of active Diplomates. The following describes in more detail the requirements for continuing education.

A.    Continuing education requirements will consist of 2 categories:

Category 1: Documented CE –30 hours minimum (Traditional CE from an accredited provider). Category 1 CE will consist of those activities that are accepted by approved providers of continuing education as described in section B.

Category 2: Self reported CE—20 hours maximum (CE obtained from professional activities). Category 2 CE will consist of the following:

• Non-accredited seminars
• Teaching
• Publications (papers, books, abstracts)
• Self-evaluation (reading articles, consultation)

A maximum of 8 hours in any one of Category 2 CE subcategories will be acceptable, but not to exceed 20 hours total.

B.    Category 1: Documented CE

For category 1 CE the Board accepts education activities that are Category 1 approved by any of the providers listed below as well as education activities provided by state laboratory agencies in the U.S. Routine professional activities do not satisfy category 1, but may satisfy category 2 CE requirements.

Category 1: Approved Providers

Satisfactory category 1 CE credits must be from a recognized provider of CE. Examples of CE providers and accreditation acceptable to the Board include but are not limited to Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), American Association of Blood Banks (AABB), American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC), American Academy of Forensic Science, American Board of Bioanalysts (ABB), American Chemical Society (ACS), American Council on Pharmaceutical Education, American Medical Association (AMA), the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science (ASCLS), the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP), American Society of Microbiology (ASM), Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP), California Association for Medical Laboratory Technology (CAMLT), California Association of Toxicologists, Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists (CSCC) , College of American Pathologists (CAP), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Clinical Laboratory Management Association (CLMA), Clinical Ligand Assay Society (CLAS), the Colorado Association for Continuing Medical Laboratory Education, Inc. (CACMLE), the International Association of Therapeutic Drug Monitoring and Clinical Toxicology (IATDMCT), National Institutes of Health (NIH), Royal College of Pathologists, The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, , and the Society of Forensic Toxicologists.

Continuing education accredited by the States of California and Florida's Clinical Laboratory Personnel Continuing Education Program is also acceptable as Category 1 credits.

Category 1: Other CE Providers

The Board reserves the right to accept other educational activities in satisfaction of the Category 1 CE credit requirement upon prior application to the Board by the person, organization, or entity sponsoring or providing the educational activity. All continuing education must reflect the scope of practice of clinical laboratory medicine and must be obtained during the two-year period, January 1—December 31, immediately prior to submitting documentation. Therefore, if in doubt whether a CE activity applies for Category 1 credit, check with the Board prior to attending for acceptability. Please send information to Penelope Jones, M.A. at the following address: ABCC 1850 K Street, N.W. Suite 625, Washington, DC 20006-2213

All inquiries will be forwarded to the Board's Continuing Education Committee and a decision on the acceptability of the program will be communicated to the interested party. Every attempt will be made to return a decision within two weeks after receipt of the information.

Category 1: Content of CE

All continuing education must reflect the scope of practice of clinical laboratory medicine regardless of specialty. Therefore, all Diplomates may achieve CE credit in any area of Laboratory Medicine. For example CE credit may be obtained through clinical chemistry related CE topics for those boarded in toxicology. Alternatively, those who are boarded in chemistry may achieve CE credit through hematology or laboratory management related topics exclusively.

C.    Category 2: Self Reported CE

Category 2 CE acceptability is on the honor system, does not require rigorous documentation and is dependent on hours spent performing an activity. Category 2 CE is obtained as follows:

1.       Non-accredited seminars · Formal scientific career-related continuing education programs that are not category 1.

2.       Teaching · Teaching of laboratory medicine or career-related subjects · Presentations in workshops and seminars

3.       Publications

·         Papers: A paper, which has been published during the year in a recognized (indexed) journal or presented before a professional audience.

·         Books: Each chapter of a medically related book.

·         Exhibits: Development of a technical scientific exhibit displayed at a national scientific meeting.

4.      Self-evaluation

·         Self-instruction: Self instructional materials do not need to meet the requirements of a planned program of CE. Examples include:

1) audiovisual material used individually and without supervision
2) open or closed circuit television and radio broadcasts and instruction using telephone networks
3) programmed educational materials or teaching devices such as computers that use the response given by the student to select the content of subsequent educational material
4) study of current publications in clinical laboratory medicine, whether used individually or in a journal club.

·         Consultant: The education a clinical laboratory scientist receives from a consultant can be accepted in category 2D. The instructional period should not be less than one (1) hour and not more than one (1) hour and may be claimed per individual consultation even through the instructional period may have lasted longer.

·         Self-assessment: Credit may be claimed for the time spent taking self-assessment examinations. The examinations must be scored and the results made known to the individual who took the examination so that further CE needs can be recognized and planned. A self-assessment examination should consist of not less than 50 questions.

D.     Documenting Continuing Education Activities

Diplomates will be notified every two years of the CE requirement.  CE activities must be obtained during the two-year period, January 1—December 31, immediately prior to submitting documentation and must total at least 50 hours for the preceding 2 years.  In addition to attesting they have completed the required CE, Diplomates must submit a CE renewal fee of $200 by March 1 of the appropriate year in order to remain in the directory of active Diplomates.

Initial Year of Certification

The requirement for CE is waived for the calendar year during which Diplomate status is achieved.  New Diplomates are required to begin earning CE the year following receipt of their Diplomate status.

CE Audit

A percentage of Diplomates will be audited each year to determine compliance with the CE requirements.  Diplomates who are audited must provide copies of their transcripts or attendance certificates for category 1 CE as reported for the CE renewal period.  All Diplomates are responsible for maintaining documentation (transcripts or attendance certificates) of their category 1 CE for three years past attendance in order to comply with the audit if selected.

Reinstating Active Status

Diplomates who have allowed active status to lapse may reinstate active status by submitting documentation of CE and annual fees for the preceding one-year period.  An additional service fee of $100 must accompany the request.

Directory of Active Diplomates

A directory of active Diplomates will be published with the names of Diplomates who have demonstrated continued competency by completing continuing education in laboratory science during the previous two years.  To ensure they are included in the directory, Diplomates must submit documentation of CE by March 1 of the appropriate year.