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.
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.
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 submitting documentation as proof of CE, Diplomates must submit the current CE renewal fee
Content and Types of CE
All continuing education must reflect the scope of practice of clinical laboratory medicine regardless of specialty. Diplomates may achieve CE credit in any area of laboratory medicine. For Category 1, acceptable accreditation programs and their CE credits should be well-established and well-recognized in the field. This can be determined by history, breadth, and acceptance by other organizations or bureaus as valid education currency. The program should also have established processes to prevent bias, ensure scientific integrity, and relevancy to clinical laboratory practice. The accreditation statement and mission statement are especially important to determining whether the CE credit is relevant to ABCC diplomate audiences. Common types of credit include ACCENT, CME, CPD, PACE. For Category 2, CE Credits can come from a wide range of professional activities.
To maintain active status as a diplomate, ABCC requires participation in 50 hours of CE every two years, which can be obtained as follows:
CE Requirements
Other CE Providers
ABCC reserves the right to accept other educational activities in satisfaction of the Category 1 CE credit requirement with prior application to the Board by the person, organization, or entity providing the educational activity. To inquire whether a CE activity applies for Category 1 credit, please contact the Board before attending.