Southern States CME Collaborative

NCMS Accreditation Resources for CME Providers

The North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) has been a Recognized Accreditor of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. As a state medical society Recognized Accreditor, NCMS has proudly fulfilled the accrediting function for North Carolina’s in-state CME providers.

In 2023, NCMS began to have conversations with several other state medical society Recognized Accreditors in the ACCME’s South Region, exploring the possibility of forming a collaborative group to share resources and find additional strength from size and synergies. Eventually, executive leadership of the Medical Society of Virginia (MSV), the NCMS, and the Mississippi State Medical Association (MSMA) agreed to form the Southern States CME Collaborative, or SSCC. On April 1, 2024, the SSCC became an ACCME Recognized Accreditor, and the MSV, NCMS, and MSMA voluntarily relinquished their status as individual Recognized Accreditors while maintaining their accreditor identities as part of the SSCC.

As a collaborative, the SSCC functions as a partnership of equals. Oversight of the SSCC comes from a Governing Board which is comprised of executive leaders from MSV, NCMS, and MSMA. The SSCC has a single set of guiding documents, policies, procedures, and accreditation forms, all of which mirror those of the ACCME. While operating as a single accreditor, each state medical society continues to have its own CME director who is responsible for interfacing with and managing their intrastate providers, enabling easy access and the maintenance of local relationships between accredited providers and their accreditor.

The Accreditation Review Committee (ARC) is responsible for the SSCC’s accreditation decision-making. Made up of members from each of the three medical societies’ original CME committees, all ARC members serve as surveyors and participate in the SSCC’s accreditation decisions. ARC members maintain their skills as surveyors and decision-makers by sharing in regular educational activities.

Going forward, the SSCC and its state medical society members strive to provide excellent service to the CME providers in Virginia, North Carolina, Mississippi, and surrounding states. Information about becoming accredited by the SSCC can be found here under the section on Initial Accreditation Information.

As a Recognized Accreditor, SSCC uses the ACCME Accreditation Rules and an equivalent decision-making process to evaluate CME providers. This ensures that all SSCC accredited providers are held to the same high standards as ACCME-accredited or other state-accredited providers.

Initial Accreditation Information

If your organization is interested in pursuing accreditation for continuing medical education, please contact Russet Rogers, CME Staff Consultant at [email protected] to schedule a meeting to discuss the process of accreditation.

Information for Initial Accreditation