What is European accreditation?
European accreditation entitles a decision by the European Board of Urology Accreditation Committee that the organiser of the CME event has fulfilled the EBU requirements for a CME programme. If so, a number of credit points is allocated to a programme in compliance with the EBU/UEMS regulation – 1 hour equals 1 credit point with a maximum of 6 credit points per day.
By awarding the European accreditation, the EBU certifies that the activity:
- Meets the requirements for continued medical education;
- Clearly states educational and scientific objectives;
- Fulfils a recognised professional need in the field, as defined in the statement of objectives;
- Presents subject matter that attains the stated objectives;
- Makes use of current teaching and learning techniques;
- Indicates selection criteria for presenters;
- Awards certificates of attendance and course completion.
Why apply for European accreditation of educational activities?
The CME activities awarded with European accreditation distinguish themselves from other educational activities offered to medical specialists because their level of educational and scientific value is confirmed by the European Board of Urology.
Who can apply for European accreditation?
The EBU Accreditation Committee will accredit events organised by (inter)national urological societies, universities and their associated working groups or affiliated societies. Accreditation of CME programmes presented by professional health educational organisations can also be assessed on an individual basis. Other organisers wishing to be eligible for the European accreditation - whether they are individual urologists or groups and whether they operate independently or in conjunction with commercial organisations - need to liaise with or be part of one of the organisations mentioned above in order to qualify for European accreditation.
How does registration of European / National CME credit points work?
By partially or fully participating in a CME-accredited activity, physicians earn credit points, the amount of which is based on the number of hours actually spent on the activity. These credits may be reported to a local or national CME authority or the EU-ACME office.
The EU-ACME office offers urologists participating in the EU-ACME programme automatic registration of European and national credit points. Although it is the responsibility of the CME organiser to verify attendance by participants, the EU-ACME office can offer logistical support for attendance verification. Scanners may be provided or, for smaller meetings, CME registration numbers may simply be registered on a list. After the meeting the CME organiser returns the scanners or the participant list to the EU-ACME office, which updates the EU-ACME members’ accounts in the database with the number of credits allocated to the meeting. All participants have to do, is presenting their EU-ACME membership card.
European accreditation complements National accreditation
European accreditation of CME programmes in urology is complementary to the competence and activities of National Accreditation Authorities, rather than competitive. European accreditation system and procedures are based on EBU/UEMS. The EBU is the working group of the European Union of Medical Specialists (UEMS), which formally represents European countries and its credit points should therefore be recognised by National Accreditation Authorities.