The National Faculty Education Initiative, a Web-based program to teach CME faculty the difference between certified CME and promotional activities, was introduced at the National Task Force on Provider/Industry Collaboration meeting held in October in Baltimore.

Developed by the Alliance for CME and the Society for Academic CME in collaboration with the Association of American Medical Colleges, the program, which takes about 30 minutes to complete, covers federal regulations, accreditation and professional standards, and faculty roles and responsibilities when presenting certified CME. The format involves a series of questions and interactive scenarios in five different modules, including a pre- and post-test.

Upon completion, faculty receive certificates and their names are added to an online database, which is available to providers and commercial interests. The program is free to faculty and they can opt out of being listed in the database if they wish. There is a charge for providers and commercial interests to access the database, but it is free for Alliance for CME and SACME members.

Many in the audience at the presentation praised the Alliance and SACME for the initiative and said they intend to distribute it to their faculty immediately. Attendees from two major pharmaceutical companies said they were interested in using the program to train promotional speakers.

This will be just the first of many educational programs developed by NFEI, explained presenter Sue Ann Capizzi, president, Alliance for CME. NFEI also plans to tackle other issues, such as adult-learning principles and intellectual property rights.

The program can be accessed at http://www.NFEInitiative.org.