Maintenance of Competence

The Maintenance of Competence Committee oversees the continuing professional development (PD) program designed by the Canadian Academy of Clinical Biochemistry to encourage and support the lifelong learning needs of its Fellows and other healthcare professionals who are in the practice of clinical chemistry.  The program uses accreditation of continuing professional development events, establishes an ongoing PD program for continuing education credits, and conducts audits of PD credit submissions as a means of meeting this goal.

MOC Members

Ihssan Bouhtiauy

Lyne Massicotte

Lynn Allen

Barry Kyle

Saranya Arnoldo

Office

(coming soon)

MOC Handbook

MOC Terms of Reference

Requirements for Fellows

Fellows are required to have the following PD credits each year:

• Minimum of 25 PD credits in total
• Minimum of 15 PD credits in Category 1
• 10 PD credits in at least 2 of the categories 2 to 8

Each year a professional development certificate will be issued to Fellows who meet these requirements.

Deadlines

The deadline to submit credits for the year is December 31

Most CSCC educational sessions include a code to enter your credits, using ‘CE Code Entry’ under Membership Tools to submit the credits. The code for PD credits expires 60 days after the date of the session.

Reinstatement

Requirements of Fellowship

By-Law 7.3.4
A person shall be eligible to apply for Fellowship who is a Full Member of the Society and who has met, in the opinion of the Board of the Academy, the requirements for Fellowship approved by the membership of the Academy. To remain a Fellow of the Academy, a person must pay annual membership dues and comply with the professional development program for the maintenance of competence.

What is reinstatement?

A return to status as a Fellow requires reinstatement into the PD Program and compliance with the program. The process applies to Fellows who are: 1) returning from Emeritus status to active practice;
or 2) restoring compliance with the PD Program after removal from the “List of Fellows”.

Reinstatement Process

Application Form for Reinstatement

Once your application has been approved for reinstatement, and any past dues have been paid (see below), re-entry into the Professional Development Program will require the following steps:

In the first year of reinstatement, the annual minimum of 25 credits, in any category, shall be met by December 31 and submitted to the PD Program by the usual deadline (February 28).
In the second year, the member will be audited for compliance with the PD Program, except for the 3-year rule. The second year of reinstatement follows the same minimum annual requirement and audit.
In the third year of reinstatement, full compliance is required and the 3-year rule will apply. A third audit will be conducted.
Upon notification of maintenance of full compliance for 3 years, the reinstatement process is complete and the PD Program certificate will be issued.
Dues

For returning Emeritus Fellows, Academy dues apply in the year following the request. Credits for previous years may be considered by the Head Office and Chair of the MOC Committee if required for specific purposes (e.g. PD certificate requested by employer). Submission of previous years’ credits shall be subject to payment of past dues and audit of credits.
For Fellows who are restoring compliance, dues must continue to be paid including in sabbatical years.
Return to Active Fellowship After a Leave of Absence from Work

Defining the sabbatical year:

Head Office must be notified in advance of a sabbatical year (or any reasonable leave from practice), and both the PD calendar year and the 3-year cycle to which it is applied must be specified. If the sabbatical overlaps two PD years, notification must include defining the calendar year to which the split should be applied.
If the sabbatical year overlaps into two PD years, the yearly requirement of 25 credits may be waived for one of the two years involved, depending on how the year is defined.
The 3-year rule always applies. Ideally Fellows are expected to make up for the required 3-year cycle 150 credits, during the working period outside of the sabbatical. If the sabbatical is a full 12 months (1 year), at a minimum your PD credits must total 2/3 (66.6%) of the time for the 150 credit requirement (i.e. 100 credits); for a 6-month sabbatical, a minimum of 2.5/3 (83%) of the 150 credits (i.e. 125 credits) must be attained.
The reduced PD credit requirement may only be applied to one 3-year cycle. For example, if a Fellow is anticipating to take a leave for 2017, and designates the 2015-17 cycle for the reduced credit assignment, then the Fellow is expected to meet the full 150 credit requirements in the following periods (2016-18, 2017-19), even though both periods include the sabbatical year.

Credit Categories &
Documentation Requirements

Category 1 - Formal Group Learning

*Specifically related to Lab Medicine and accredited by CACB, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, or AACC (ACCENT)

1 Credit / hr


Examples

  • Conferences
  • Seminars
  • Accredited Medical Grand Rounds related to laboratory medicine
  • CSCC Education Roundtables
  • IFCC Webinars

Documentation Required

  • CSCC or AACC meetings: certificate
  • Other meetings:
    • Certificate of attendance stating the number of hours and the accrediting body
    • Registration and program schedule (signed and dated by participant with attended events indicated)
  • CSCC Education Roundtable: password

In the absence of a formal certificate, most national and international meetings should qualify if they have one or more of the following:

  • Accreditation by a recognized body
  • Relevant to laboratory medicine and professional practice; the context is neither too clinical nor basic biomedical research (i.e. not directly applicable to practice)
  • The content level is directed towards laboratory professionals (scientists and physicians)
  • A program stating the dates and times, speakers, titles, learning objectives of the sessions is provided

The committee will use judgment and may request additional supporting documentation if submitted documents are deemed inadequate

Category 2 - Other Formal Group Learning

*Not specifically related to Lab Medicine or formal group learning related to lab medicine not accredited as per Category 1.

1 Credit / hr


Examples

  • Rounds
  • Departmental seminars
  • Symposia
  • Satellite events within major conferences
  • Journal clubs
  • Courses
  • Industry sponsored workshops
  • Regional clinical chemistry meetings
  • Programs accredited by P.A.C.E.

Documentation Required
One of the following:

  • Certificate of attendance
  • Meeting announcement (signed and dated by participant)
  • Meeting minutes (indicating presence)

Category 3 - Self-directed Learning

1 Credit / hr

Examples

  • Journal/textbook reading
  • Viewing online presentations
  • Self-assessment modules (eg. AACC, ASCP)
  • Archived CSCC Education Roundtables
  • Archived P.A.C.E. programs

Not included:

  • Literature searches
  • Email discussion groups

Documentation Required

  • Date and time spent
  • List titles and references of journal articles
  • List online presentations viewed
  • Password (teleconferences)

Category 4 - Inactive

Category 5 - Service-associated Learning

1 Credit / 3 hrs

(5 per Committee)

Service Examples

  • Membership on a Board, Council, or committee of scientific association, hospital or hospital department
  • Examiner for recognized certification or accreditation body
  • Journal reviewer or Editorial Board member

    Documentation Required

    • Date and time spent
    • Letter/email of acknowledgement or invitation to join
      or
    • Meeting minutes indicating presence

    Category 6 - Teaching in Laboratory Medicine

    2 Credits / hr

    Examples

    • Teaching of students at university/college level
    • Formal group instruction for lab technologists
    • Workplace safety training

    Documentation Required

    • Course schedule, including participant’s name and lecture titles
    • Letter/email of acknowledgement from course organizer

    Category 7 - Change in Practice

    1 Credit / hr
    Max 75

    (5 Per Case)

    Examples

    Time spent developing a new process eg.
    • New lab test
    • Revised reporting format
    • Updating teaching curriculum

    Time spent implementing the process is not eligible as this would be considered part of a biochemist’s regular duties. This includes staff training, information dissemination and administration.

    Documentation Required

    • Description of the stimulus and the learning activities
    • Description of the process outcomes
    • List of major references

    Category 8 - Publications and Presentations

    5 Credits / item

    Examples

    • Articles in scientific journals
    • Posters or oral presentations
    • Submissions to publications indirectly related to lab medicine eg. hospital newsletters

    Documentation Required

    •  Copy of abstract/title from meeting handbook
       or
    • Copy of front page of article

    Category 9 - Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons Fellows only

    50 Credits / year (fixed)

    Physicians who have a certificate of credits from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, and who wish to use the certificate to serve both RCPSC and CACB may use this category.  If Category 9 is used to submit credits, credits should not be entered into any other category.  A Category 9 submission is equivalent to 50 creidts (fixed).  The annual certificate from the RCPSC is your supporting documentation. 

    Only one submission may be made each year.

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