The University at Buffalo (UB) School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences is an academic medical center within the largest and most comprehensive research university of the State University of New York system.

Our office’s primary audience comprises the physicians of Western New York. Our reach, however, crosses borders both nationally and internationally. We are committed to providing education that enhances participant competence, performance and patient outcomes.

The purpose of the UB CME office is to:

• Improve health and patient care through quality evidence-based educational activities 
  
• Advance physician competence as clinicians, educators and researchers
• Enable physicians to earn all or most Category 1 credits needed to meet CME requirements established by hospitals and other third parties to improve competence, performance and patient outcomes
• Facilitate the discovery and application of new knowledge to clinical practice employing needs assessment data and identified professional education gaps
• Collaborate with appropriate entities to implement CME activities aimed at improving patient safety
  
• Enable physicians to develop and maintain ACGME—and specialty society—defined core competencies from undergraduate medical education, during residency and throughout their professional careers

The CME mission will be accomplished in compliance with the Accreditation Council for CME’s Essential Areas and Elements including Standards for Commercial Support, especially valid content and independence from commercial influence.

CME is rooted in the university’s academic values of scientific inquiry and public service, as it promotes institutional policies of transparency, accountability and professionalism in medicine.

The main focus of the majority of CME activities, sponsored by the University at Buffalo, lies within evidence-based clinical elements and research for all major therapeutic areas. Other focal points include:

• bioethics
• patient safety
• cultural competence
• alternative/complementary medicine
• business and leadership skills
• communication and teaching skills

The CME office works in collaboration with the Office of Graduate Medical Education to plan educational activities that focus on the six core competencies:

1. Patient care
2. Medical knowledge
3. Practice-based learning and improvement
4. Ethics and professionalism
5. Systems-based medicine
6. Interpersonal and communication skills

UB is the primary provider of CME for most medical disciplines in Western New York. UB also jointly sponsors national and international CME programs organized by faculty members who are leaders of various scientific and professional societies. Our target audience includes physicians, allied healthcare professionals, basic scientists and researchers.

• Conferences focusing on a particular topic, agenda or problem
• Grand rounds and other regularly scheduled activities
• Case-based programs, including tumor boards, morbidity and mortality (M&M) and quality improvement (QI) activities
• Research conferences
• National and local scientific meetings of professional societies
• Educational interventions conducted as part of quality improvement activities
• Faculty development programs
• Performance improvement activities
• Interdisciplinary programs within the medical school and with other university units
• Professional skill-building activities
• Enduring materials

Educational activities sponsored by the University at Buffalo are planned and implemented using needs assessment data and identified education gaps to determine the content and education method appropriate for the audience and subject matter. It is expected that participants in CME activities sponsored through UB integrate what they learn into their practice to improve their competence and performance in areas of patient care, patient safety and professional practice. Education providers are expected to design their educational activities to meet the current or potential scope of professional activities for their participants.

The UB CME unit measures its effectiveness on two levels: participant and institutional. Both quantitative and qualitative data are utilized to assess participants’ modification concerning knowledge levels, attitudes, perceived self-efficacy, skill levels and its impact on performance. Also assessed is the provider’s ability to sustain the mission of the CME office. Finally, data is collected and used to assess faculty, planner and participant satisfaction with the quality and efficiency of CME services.