Active and Supporting (FP) LAFP/AAFP members must submit at least 150 credits every three calendar years. This is called a re-election cycle. The 150 credits must include at least 75 Prescribed credits.The following are different types and examples of CME credits members may earn to reach the requirement:
Prescribed Credits
AAFP Prescribed credit is designated for activities that are designed primarily for physicians. Content is directly related to patient care, patient care delivery, or certain nonclinical topics. A family physician who is an AAFP active or life member must be directly involved in the planning of the activity to ensure the content is relevant to the specialty of family medicine.
Examples of prescribed credits include:
- CME activities for which application has been made to the AAFP Commission on Continuing Professional Development (COCPD) that have been approved for AAFP Prescribed credit
- Instruction of health professions learners in formal individual (e.g., preceptorships) or live educational formats
- Most life support courses (e.g., ALSO, ACLS, ATLS, BLS, NALS, PALS)
- American Family Physician and FPM journal quizzes
- Most activities produced by the AAFP
- Some point-of-care learning
- Activities designated as Mainpro by the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC)
- Scholarly activities
AAFP Elective Credits
Activities not individually approved by the AAFP as AAFP Prescribed credit that have been designated as American Medical Association (AMA) Physician's Recognition Award (PRA) Category 1 Credit™ or have been approved by the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) are acceptable as AAFP Elective credit.
Examples of elective credit include:
- Professional enrichment activities for which proof of completion is not required, (e.g., other medical education experiences and activities, including independent examination preparation and informal self-study activities, such as reading a medical journal); these activities may or may not be documentable
- Activities approved for American Medical Association (AMA) Physician’s Recognition Award (PRA) Category 1 Credit™
- Activities approved for American Osteopathic Association (AOA) credit
- Programs created without family physician input and designed for nonphysician health care professionals, if they have medical education content of interest to family physicians
For more information on types of CME credit and FAQs, click here.
