CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION GUIDELINES
COMMUNITY HEALTH AIDE/PRACTITIONER
INTRODUCTION
The Community Health Aide/Practitioner (CHAP) Program recognizes that ongoing Continuing
Medical Education (CME) is needed to keep medical skills current and to provide for quality
care. This training should be planned as part of a CHA/P’s career. The following guidelines
should help the CHA/P and employer choose appropriate CME. They meet the minimum
standards for certification by the Community Health Aide Program Certification Board. (See
CHAP Certification Board Standards Chapter 3, Section 3.10.010 and Section 3.10.100).
All CHAs and CHPs must document a minimum of 48 hours ongoing education or CME every 2
years. CHPs must take at least 144 hrs CME every 6 years to become re-credentialed.
 For Community Health Aides, regular progression through Basic Training and initial
credentialing as CHP usually meets this requirement.
 For Community Health Aides in Basic Training who do not complete at least 1 session in 2
years, 48 hours of CME must be obtained instead.
 For renewal of credentials as Community Health Practitioner, at least 48 hours CME must
be obtained within the 2 years following initial credentialing, and for each 2 years
thereafter, to a total of 144 hours in 6 years.
CME CONTENT
The primary goal of CME is to assure that basic competencies continue to be met. Content of
CME must cover one or more of the courses of study or competencies taught in Basic Training
Sessions, be part of the Curriculum or the CHAM, and directly relate to the clinical practice of a
CHA/P.
Focus of Content
# Hrs Applied toward Re-credentialing
 Emergency Courses (EMS)….………... No more than 24 hrs. every 2 yrs.
 Medical content ……………….………... At least 24 hrs. every 2 yrs
Types of CME offered within the CHAP program:
 Clinical Update: CHA/P focused skill assessment and update
 CME: in depth focus on specific rural health issues and disease processes significant to the
village communities
 Re-credentialing Preceptorship: 15 of the 30 hrs may apply as medical content once each 6
years
 Medical Standing Orders Tests and orientation to CHAM revisions: 12 hrs total may apply as
medical content once per major CHAM revision
Advanced training pertinent to an individual CHP’s direct practice will be acceptable if the
training is within the scope of services provided by that CHP in that region, and has been
approved by the employer.
The following activities are not considered CME:
 Regular field supervision from CI or MD
 Regularly scheduled village patient care
 Non-medical courses (i.e.: college level English or non-medical math)
5/96, revised and approved by ARC and CHAP Directors 5/02
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CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION GUIDELINES
COMMUNITY HEALTH AIDE/PRACTITIONER
APPROVED SPONSORS
The following are approved sponsors of CME courses:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Certified CHA Basic Training Centers
CHAP Certification Board
ARC CME Committee
I.H.S. and other federal government-created medical or health education, if applicable to the
scope of services provided by that CHA/P
5. Emergency courses by State EMS, I.H.S., American Heart Association, American Red
Cross
6. University of Alaska Fairbanks and other accredited schools of post-secondary education
Examples:
 Program-sponsored courses such as the CHAP Forum, and other courses developed
expressly for CHA/Ps approved for UAF college credit or CEUs
 UAF 200 level CHP courses
 Other university courses in relevant health sciences, such as human anatomy and
physiology
7. AMA/ANA, through their respective education credentialing programs, if course applicable to
the scope of services provided by that CHA/P
DEFINITION OF TERMS
CME: Medically based continuing education.
A CME hour is defined as the number of minutes per hour granted by the sponsoring agency.
Typically this will be either 50 or 60 minutes.
 For courses sponsored by the CHA Program, (ex: Forum) 1 hour = 50 minutes
 UAF courses: 1 university credit equals a minimum of 15 contact hours
(For short courses, hours may not be compressed to fewer than 3 days per one credit)
Sponsor: An agency responsible for providing and/or approving CME. To qualify as an
approved sponsor, the agency must have a process to insure that courses offered or approved
have appropriate content, curriculum, objectives, qualified instructor(s), evaluation criteria, and
must award continuing education hours.
Instructor of Record: The person submitting a course for approval, who takes responsibility for
its development, coordination, evaluation and revision. Each approved sponsor must have an
instructor of record or coordinator who maintains records of each course, including student
objectives, methods of instruction and evaluation, and a list of participants.
Re-certification: the process of renewing certification every 2 years through the CHAP
Certification Board. Documented approved CME hours are required with the application.
(See related Certification Board Standards)
Re-credentialing: the process of renewing the credential as Community Health Practitioner
every 6 years through the Training Center. The same CME standards must be met for both recredentialing and re-certifying. (See related ARC Guidelines)
5/96, revised and approved by ARC and CHAP Directors 5/02
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CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION GUIDELINES
COMMUNITY HEALTH AIDE/PRACTITIONER
CHA/P RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Save training certificates, and maintain own CME LOG
2. Provide employer with copies of certificates, including # CME hours awarded
3. If course did not give CME hours, provide a copy of the course schedule and objectives to
employer for calculation of # hours
4. Request appropriate and timely CME.
EMPLOYER RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Provide each CHA/P with a copy of the CME guidelines, and orient all staff to the process.
2. Provide opportunities for CHA/Ps to attend Basic Training and CME courses in order to
meet CME requirements for credentialing and/or certification
3. Maintain copies of all CME courses attended and total hours awarded to each CHA/P in that
CHA/P’s training file, and record summary on an approved log or similar record
4. Submit a CME Log or similar documentation to :
 Certification Board for renewal every 2 years
 Training Center and Certification Board for re-credentialing/re-certification every 6 years
5. For tribally sponsored CME: send goals, objectives, outcome measurements, hours and
instructor list to the Certification Board or Training Center for approval
 Maintain a copy of the same for employer records
 Award certificates of attendance to each student, with name of instructor of record,
location, date and hours of CME
6. Assist the CHA in providing documentation of CME in event of audit
7. Provide CME to CHAs who do not advance through at least 1 basic training session in 2
years
8. Provide re-entry assessment for CHA/Ps who resume work after lapse of employment,
according to the criteria developed by CHAP Directors and ARC. Required CME could be
met through combination of repeating a Basic Training session or taking a Clinical Update,
and renewing EMS certification.
TRAINING CENTER RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Receive and evaluate CME log as part of total recredentialing packet every 6 years
2. Document CME log in the training record of each CHP available for reference in case of
audit.
3. Offer appropriate CME courses on a yearly basis, sufficient to meet an estimated statewide
training need. Have on record the curriculum, objectives, evaluation methods, instructors
and evaluation materials for each course offered. Maintain a list of all students attending,
and their pass/fail results.
4. Award certificates of attendance to each student, with name of instructor of record, location,
date and hours of CME.
5. Review and approve CME courses as a CHAPCB approved sponsor.
5/96, revised and approved by ARC and CHAP Directors 5/02
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CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION GUIDELINES
COMMUNITY HEALTH AIDE/PRACTITIONER
CERTIFICATION BOARD RESPONSIBILITIES
1. Review and approve curriculum content, objectives, evaluation methods, and instructors for
formal field-based training and employer-sponsored CME. This includes courses not already
reviewed by an approved sponsor (such as UAF or a training center), and self-study
modules.
2. Maintain a record of all sponsors and courses it approves.
3. Review and approve CME logs submitted for re-certification every two years.
RELATED RESOURCES:
1. Regarding UAF credits contact the CHAP Academic Liaison.
2. State of Alaska EMS Guidelines.
3. CHAP Certification Board Standards Chapter 3, Section 3.10.010 and Section 3.10.100
CME PACKET INCLUDES:
1. ARC CME Guidelines
2. CHAP Certification Board Standards: Chapter 3. Continuing Education
3. CHAPCB CME Log form
5/96, revised and approved by ARC and CHAP Directors 5/02
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