CME News
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The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) awarded its highest
accreditation level to the Continuing Medical Education (CME) program at Quillen College
of Medicine, East Tennessee State University (ETSU).
As the accrediting body for Continuing Medical Education, ACCME affirms that the Quillen
College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University has demonstrated a high quality
program, defined by the strength of its organizational resources and exceptional staff,
in offering learning activities that enhance health care provider knowledge, skills
and performance in the context of life-long learning.
This honor, “Accreditation with Commendation,” is awarded to CME programs that adhere to fifteen primary criteria for regular accreditation plus an additional seven for “Accreditation with Commendation”.
To receive commendation, ETSU CME collaborated with internal and external stakeholders to develop and implement educational programming and tools designed to promote improved clinical performance and health outcomes.
Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University CME program was first accredited in 1981. This is the first year that Quillen College of Medicine, East Tennessee State University, Continuing Medical Education has received “Accreditation with Commendation”, accrediting the program for a six year term.
ACCME and Board of Medical Examiners in Tennessee Collaborate on Pilot Program to
Facilitate Reporting of Physician Participation in CME
March 28, 2018
We are pleased to announce that we are collaborating with the Board of Medical Examiners in Tennessee to launch a voluntary, year-long pilot program that will enable CME providers to report physician participation in CME directly to the Board. This will simplify the process for physicians, who will not have to report their participation themselves.
Twelve accredited CME providers have volunteered to participate in the pilot, which begins in June 2018. The CME providers will collect participant data, including each physician’s name, national provider identifier (NPI) or Tennessee license number, and the day and month of the physician’s birth. They will upload this data into the system they already use to report activities, the ACCME Program and Activity Reporting System (PARS). This information will then be shared proactively with the Board.
The ACCME and the Board are engaging in this collaboration because they share the goal of reducing regulatory burdens on physician learners. We thank the CME providers who have volunteered to participate. Their feedback and experience will inform our efforts going forward. If the pilot is successful, the ACCME's goal is to explore similar collaborations with other state boards.
JOHNSON CITY (June 30, 2017) East Tennessee State University and the Tennessee Department
of Health are collaborating to educate about 1,000 Tennessee health care professionals
about proper prescribing practices to curb the spread of opioid abuse.
Titled “The Chronic Pain Guidelines and Controlled Substance Abuse Efforts Symposium,”
the program is open to all levels of health care professionals, including medical
and nursing students.
“This is a really nice collaborative effort between ETSU and the Tennessee Department of Health,” said Eileen Bailey, ETSU’s associate dean for Continuing Medical Education.
“This is the third year we’ve partnered with the state, and we present eight different sessions during the course of a calendar year.”
Bailey said the conference was established to fulfill a two-hour course requirement all prescribers have to take every two calendar years per the state’s Board of Medical Examiners. That requirement went into effect in 2016 to help curb the spread of opioid addiction.
“Basically, it’s a law that they must have a bare minimum of education in these topics
to help combat the opioid prescription abuse problem in the state, which we all know
is pretty significant,” Bailey said.
Attendees will learn about risk management tools, new laws and regulations effecting pain management specialists, the Tennessee Controlled Substance Monitoring Database and the Chronic Pain Guidelines.
Some of the speakers will include Dr. Todd Bess, director of Tennessee’s Controlled Substance Monitoring Database program; Thomas Farmer, director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Meth and Pharmaceutical Task Force and Johnson City native Dr. Stephen Loyd, assistant commissioner of Tennessee’s Division of Substance Abuse Services.
“I will be presenting on how to address addictive behavior in your practice, how to identify the warning signs, and how to best intervene in manner supportive of recovery,” Loyd said.
Bailey said the Department of Health develops the symposium’s content and selects the speakers, while ETSU reviews that content to ensure it complies with the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.
This first of the eight symposiums already took place on May 4 at ETSU, which was the only conference held this year in the Tri-Cities.
The next one will take be held July 6 in Murfressboro. The others will be held in Winchester on July 13; Jackson on Aug. 10; Clarksville on Aug. 22; Cookeville on Sept. 21; Nashville on Oct. 5 and Knoxville on Nov. 7.
“Some of the more remote locations will change from year to year in order to ensure the program goes out to some of those areas that are underserved,” Bailey said. “The mission of the Quillen College of Medicine is to focus on our rural providers in the Appalachian region.”
All the courses will begin at 6 p.m. with dinner provided.
“So they get free dinner, free continuing education credit and they meet their licensure prescribing requirement for the state,” Bailey said.
There is no registration fee for the event, however space is limited, so early registration is recommended.
The East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine Office of Continuing Medical Education was recognized by the Appalachian Community Fund in Alcoa, TN on Saturday, November 19, 2016 for improving the health outcomes of patients in the communities they serve.
With a focus on education tailored to the rural healthcare provider, the staff of the East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine Office of Continuing Medical Education (OCME) design, develop, implement, and evaluate programs to better serve patients, the public and the profession.
The OCME is one of the only providers of continuing medical education in the region. They partner with like-minded institutions or organizations to deliver high-quality educational activities that address the peer-identified needs of clinical health professionals, enhancing their ability to improve the health outcomes of patients in the communities they serve.
2015
July
31st Annual ETSU SW VA Pediatrics Conference - August 1, 2015
The Office of Continuing Medical Education at East Tennessee State University's Quillen College of Medicine will host a one day live conference focusing on Primary Care for Children with Chronic Health Conditions at SW Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon, VA.
This conference is designed to provide the most current information on common pediatric problems, as well as to offer practical solutions to more complex health issues that occur in pediatric care. Topics to be covered include anti-epilepsy medication; adverse drug reactions of anticonvulsants; epilepsy basics for the primary care provider; neurosurgical issues for the primary care provider; how to provide a medical home for medically complex children; care of the ex-preterm infant; children's behavioral health needs in the medical home; and caring for children with diabetes.
Physicians who attend the symposium can receive up to 10.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Nurses attending can receive 10.0 continuing nursing education contact hours for the conference. This educational event also contains nursing pharmacology credits and may be used to fulfill your pharmacology nursing CE requirement.
Psychiatry in the Mountains October 9, 2015
The Office of Continuing Medical Education at East Tennessee State University's Quillen College of Medicine will host a symposium with a target audience of psychiatrists, physicians, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, pharmacists, psychologists, nurses, social workers and other mental health providers. This conference will be held at the Millennium Conference Centre in Johnson City, TN.
Topics to be covered include: psychoneuroimmunology and HIV; complementary and alternative medicine and communication; models of integrated care in outpatient pediatrics; cardiovascular health; opiate use/misuse in pregnancy women; models of integrated care; and managing difficult patients at the interface of psychiatry and primary care.
Physicians who attend this conference can receive up to 7.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Nurses attending can receive 7.25 continuing nursing education contact hours for the conference. This educational event has been approved for up to 1.0 credit hour of Pharmacology nursing CE.
6th Annual Regional Health Care Symposium October 16 & 17, 2015
The Office of Continuing Medical Education at Quillen College of Medicine and Healthy Kingsport will host a symposium for primary care providers, advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists, and other health care providers. This conference will be held at MeadowView Executive Conference Center in Kingsport, TN.
This years symposium is designed to increase the primary care providers knowledge, skill and competencies in newly emerging evidence-based patient management.
Physicians who attend the symposium can receive up to 15.0 AMA PRA Category 1 CreditsTM. Nurses attending can receive 15.0 continuing nursing education contact hours for the conference. This educational event also contains nursing pharmacology credits and may be used to fulfill your pharmacology nursing CE requirement.
2014
July
Inaugural regional sports medicine symposium set for Aug. 8
JOHNSON CITY The Office of Continuing Medical Education at East Tennessee State University's Quillen College of Medicine will host a symposium for primary care providers next month. The symposium will focus on traumatic brain injury and concussion in youth and young adult athletes.
The Thomas J. Ellis Sports Medicine Symposium will take place Friday, Aug. 8, at The Millennium Centre in Johnson City.
It is named for the first orthopaedic surgeon to establish a practice in Johnson City in 1950. Ellis was joined by Dr. Sam W. Huddleston III in 1956 and they formed The Ellis-Huddleston Clinic, which became Orthopedic Associates and finally Appalachian Orthopaedic Associates. Ellis retired in 1976 and later died. His wife established the endowment and the symposium in his memory.
Breakfast and registration for the symposium begin at 7 a.m. with a welcome by ETSU President Dr. Brian Noland slated for 7:30 a.m. The daylong event will include sessions on concussions, emergency treatment for head injuries in children, diagnosis and treatment of concussions and tools to determine when an individual can return to sports following a concussion.
Speakers at the symposium are regional experts in sports medicine and include Brian Johnston, assistant athletic director for sports medicine at ETSU; Dr. A. Tyler Putnam, medical director of trauma services at Johnson City Medical Center; Dr. Brian Shafer with Holston Medical Groups Primary Care and Sports Medicine; Dr. Eric Parks, who works in sports medicine at Watauga Orthopaedics; and Dr. RJ Elbin, a nationally known expert and assistant professor of exercise science at the University of Arkansas.
The conference is designed for healthcare providers, including physicians, advance practice nurses, PAs and nurses. It aims to improve the health and well-being of athletes in Southern Appalachia by providing current, evidence-based information that is relevant to clinical practice of healthcare professionals in the region.
Physicians who attend the symposium can receive up to 7.5 AMA PRA Category 1 credits. Nurses attending can receive 7.5 continuing nursing education contact hours for the conference. To sign up for the symposium, or for more information, visit www.etsu.edu/cme or call 423-439-8027 to register by phone.
October
ETSU to host workshop on controversies in pain management
JOHNSON CITY The Office of Continuing Medical Education at East Tennessee State University's Quillen College of Medicine will host a one-day live conference for the interprofessional team that incorporates lectures and workshops centered on controversial pain management topics.
This year, the conference is focused on the use of opioids in non-malignant chronic pain. Speakers will focus on both sides of the debate, using current evidence to provide a wide spectrum of recommendations for prescribing and treating chronic pain patients with opioids.
Topics to be covered include when and how to reduce opioids; legal and liability issues; opioid management therapy; opioid prescribing; and pain in Appalachia.
The event is open to all doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other health care providers. It will take place Friday, Nov. 14, from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Physicians who attend the symposium can receive up to 7.5 AMA PRA Category 1 credits. Nurses attending can receive 7.5 continuing nursing education contact hours for the conference. Pharmacists can receive 7.5 continuing pharmacy education hours.
To sign up for the workshop, or for more information, visit www.etsu.edu/cme or call 423-439-8027 to register by phone.
2013
March 4
Primary Care Conference features wide spectrum of experts, topics
JOHNSON CITY More than 35 physicians and other health care providers will highlight the latest advances in medicine during the 17th annual Primary Care Conference, being held March 25-28 by East Tennessee State University's James H. Quillen College of Medicine.
The conference, which is presented by the ETSU Office of Continuing Medical Education (CME), will be held at the Millennium Centre and is intended for primary care physicians of all specialties, as well as surgeons, orthopedists and emergency medicine physicians. Other providers who deliver frontline health care will benefit, including advanced practice nurses, physician assistants, registered nurses, dietitians, dentists and psychologists.
The scope of topics has made the conference one of the signature events for the Office of CME, a division of the Quillen College of Medicine. A new feature this year will be workshops on suturing and injection techniques that will be held at Quillen.
Dr. T. Watson Jernigan, chair of the ETSU Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and associate dean for Clinical Affairs at Quillen, has been a presenter and audience participant at the Primary Care Conference, and he marvels at the spectrum and quality of information for health care providers.
Jernigan's presentation this year focuses on new evidence pertaining to the cardiovascular effects of estrogen therapy for women with menopause. A highly publicized 2002 study known as the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) linked estrogen therapy to an increased risk for heart disease, Jernigan said, but a new investigation offers additional insight.
The Kronos Early Estrogen Prevention Study (KEEPS) is a renewed look at estrogen use and menopause, especially in patients in early menopause. Jernigan's presentation, "Battle of the Titans: WHI vs. KEEPS," arose from his attendance at a national meeting of leading experts on menopause.
"What I'm presenting is what I learned at the North American Menopause Society national meeting the results were very significant, but they haven't even been widely published yet," Jernigan said. "The Women's Health Initiative changed the environment of menopause treatment, because it talked about women being at increased risk for heart disease and breast cancer with estrogen therapy.
"The WHI study was significant; it showed that there's no doubt that if you've had a heart attack and you're over the menopausal age, estrogen is probably not the best therapy for you. But we are seeing 48-year-olds, 55-year-olds, who are athletic, who are in the early stages of symptomatic menopause, who we believe should not worry about increased heart disease risk with estrogen use."
Jernigan said he considers it a privilege to pass along new information in his specialty to colleagues from throughout the region, and he appreciates the reciprocal knowledge gained when he's in the audience.
"A physician or a nurse practitioner could attend 30 conferences around the country to learn about the hottest topics and latest advances in treatment," Jernigan said, "but that isn't realistic because of the time and the cost it would involve. Instead, everyone gets to come to one place that is very accessible. And then, in turn, they take what they've learned and put that into practice in communities throughout our region, which results in improved care for patients."
The new, hands-on workshops that offer instruction on suturing techniques and joint aspirations will be held in the gross anatomy lab at the College of Medicine. Dr. Caroline Abercrombie, ETSU instructor and director of the gross anatomy lab, developed the workshops in collaboration with several experts she recruited, most of whom have Quillen ties. Workshop instructors Drs. Gaurav Bharti, Sarah Edwards, Jason Moore and Howard Herrell are Quillen alumni, and a second-year medical student, Jon Miller, is also participating.
"There's a wide variety of attendees at the conference including physicians, surgical PAs, nurse practitioners and students so these workshops will allow some to refresh the skills they already have and also provide the opportunity for others to learn new ones," Abercrombie said. "I had a reason for reaching out to a number of Quillen graduates for help. This will showcase the highly competent medical education we have here. All of those doctors are excellent teachers; they all went to school at Quillen; and they all have either stayed here or returned here."
For online registration and more information, including a complete list of speakers and topics, visit www.etsu.edu/com/cme. Registration for the conference, as well as assistance for those with disabilities, is also available by calling the Office of CME at (423) 439-8027.
The Quillen College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Topics related to dental care and nutrition are included in this year's conference, and ETSU has filed applications for additional educational credits through the Commission on Dietetic Registration, the Tennessee Nursing Association, the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, the Tennessee Board of Dentistry, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the National Association of Long Term Care Administrator Boards, also known as NAB.
2012
September 19
ETSU researchers receive Department of Defense grant to unravel mysteries of autism
JOHNSON CITY A scientist at East Tennessee State University renowned for his studies of brain biology and its relation to psychiatric illnesses has received grant funding from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to investigate brain abnormalities that may play a role in the development of autism.
Dr. Gregory Ordway, professor and interim chair of the James H. Quillen College of Medicine's Department of Biomedical Sciences, received the DOD grant to search for new understandings of how dysfunction in the brain's white matter the areas that communicate signals from one part of the brain to another may be a precursor or indicator of autism.
Ordway and his research associate, Dr. Michelle Chandley, theorize that these abnormalities in white matter may contribute, in particular, to difficulties in social interactions, a signature symptom of autism. They received a grant of $150,000 for the two-year pilot study.
In the human brain, gray matter is where information resides and processing of that information takes place, Ordway explained. White matter serves as the pathway for transmitting signals from one area of the brain to another.
A certain kind of abnormality within that white matter is the target of the study. The appearance of these "hyperintensities," which reveal as white spots on a magnetic resonance imaging scan, can be part of the normal aging process, but an early onset of them can be an indicator for some neurological conditions, including autism.
"We're trying to understand why they occur and what they mean," said Ordway, who is principal investigator. "Autism is associated with having more of these white matter hyperintensities, which show up as very white spots on a scan. Behaviors that are associated with normal social behaviors and interactions are processed in several areas of the brain, but especially in a region called the anterior cingulate cortex. Abnormalities in the white matter of that region have been particularly observed in people who have autism."
Neurochemical imbalances in the brain that can lead to depression and suicide remain Ordway's primary research focus, but the DOD grant represents the second time in two years his lab has received extramural funding to study autism. Chandley, who is serving a postdoctoral fellowship, first urged Ordway to explore the biological causes of autism, and her insistence led to an investigation funded by Autism Speaks.
Her persistence also led to the DOD grant, Ordway said. Both are hopeful that their study could identify unique molecular targets for drug development, which would be a scientific breakthrough since there are few adequate drug treatments for autism.
"Autism is still a mystery because there's so much we still don't understand, and it affects 1 in 88 children," Chandley said. "We not only lack treatments for autism there's no biochemical or molecular screening for the disorder, either."
The study is notable not only for its pursuit of new understandings but also for the process involved. Ordway's lab will harvest cells from postmortem autism brains through a process called laser capture microdissection, an extremely precise method of extracting a single type of human cell so that the cell can be screened for signs of disrupted function. The typical harvest method yields what is more an admixture of cells still useful, Ordway said, but not as precise.
"With laser capture microdissection, we will be able to do an analysis of all transcribed genes of a single cell type," Ordway said. "If we can get this method to work, it will be a major step forward in the science, and could reveal currently unknown pathology of autism. We could also apply this method to research on other brain disorders."
August 2
Dr. Keith Huffaker Named Medical Director of Telemedicine
R. Keith Huffaker, M.D., M.B.A., FACOG, Assistant Professor, Chief of Urogynecology and Clinical Coordinator in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, has been named Medical Director of the Telemedicine Project at the Quillen College of Medicine at East Tennessee State University. Funded by a USDA grant, this project will seek to meet the educational and health related needs of five counties in the Southern Appalachian region related to high risk obstetrics, pediatric infectious disease, and geriatric services. Telemedicine services will include consultation, assessment, diagnosis, and prevention education. Continuing Medical Education will be provided through virtual connections to the Quillen College of Medicine, with particular emphasis on the identified needs of the healthcare providers in these communities.
Dr. Huffaker received his medical degree from the Quillen College of Medicine at ETSU in 2002 and completed an internship/residency at the University of Tennessee School of Medicine in 2006. Prior to coming to the Quillen College of Medicine as Chief of Urogynecology in 2009, Dr. Huffaker completed a Fellowship in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Scott and White Memorial Hospital and Clinic, Texas A & M Health Science Center College of Medicine, Temple and Round Rock, Texas. He completed an MBA at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in December 2011.
Please join us in congratulating Dr. Huffaker on this appointment.
Barbara Sucher, Associate Dean for CME and the P.I. for the USDA grant, will continue as Project Director for the telemedicine project.
July 30
LIFEPATH conference includes wide spectrum of topics for health care workers
JOHNSON CITY Public health professionals can learn new skills and enhance existing ones at an upcoming conference on Friday, Aug. 17, sponsored by LIFEPATH, Tennessee's public health training center.
"Public Health and You" will feature experts speaking on a variety of topics suited for health professionals, including health educators and administrators, nurses, pediatricians, physicians, social workers, epidemiologists and others. The conference will be held from 7:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
LIFEPATH, which is housed in the East Tennessee State University College of Public Health, provides academic and non-academic training opportunities for the public health workforce across Tennessee and Southwest Virginia. "Public Health and You," which attracted attendees from across the state last year, will include guest speakers from academia, health care and mass media.
Dr. Joy Wachs, director of the ETSU University and Midway Honors Program, will speak on community partnerships.
Tony Benton, CEO of Mountain States Health Alliance's Franklin Woods Community Hospital, will focus on Accountable Care Organizations, a health care model where groups of physicians, hospitals and other health care providers come together to coordinate and improve care for patients while also lowering costs.
Joe Smith and Josh Smith will bring dual perspectives to the topic of media and public relations. Josh Smith is the evening news anchor for WJHL-TV 11 Connects, and Joe Smith is director of media relations for ETSU's Office of University Relations.
Dr. Mike Stoots, an assistant professor and undergraduate program coordinator for the ETSU College of Public Health, will discuss how participants can conduct evaluation of their own organizations to better measure outcomes and success.
Admission is free, but pre-registration is encouraged due to advance planning requirements. Online registration is available on the LIFEPATH website at www.tnphtc.org. For more information, contact Paula Masters, director of LIFEPATH, at (423) 439-4421 or mastersp@etsu.edu.
July 20
Quillen College of Medicine will celebrate Adebonojo's legacy at Southwest Virginia Pediatrics Conference
JOHNSON CITY - Physicians and other health care providers can explore the latest issues unique to delivering health care for children at the 28th annual Southwest Virginia Pediatrics Conference, being presented Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 4-5, by the East Tennessee State University Department of Pediatrics.
Faculty from the James H. Quillen College of Medicine and other academic medical centers are among those who will speak on a wide spectrum of pediatric topics at the Martha Washington Inn in Abingdon. The conference, which is co-sponsored by the ETSU Office of Continuing Medical Education and Niswonger Children's Hospital, is designed for pediatricians, primary care physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, medical residents and medical students.
This year's event is being held in memory of a physician who was an extraordinary influence on pediatrics in the region: the late Dr. Festus Adebonojo. A former ETSU professor and chair of Pediatrics, Adebonojo died at his Johnson City home in June.
The first Nigerian to graduate from Yale University, Adebonojo came to ETSU in 1989 to be a professor of Pediatrics and chair of the department. For the rest of his life, he remained a constant presence at Quillen, where his legacy is considerable. He recruited pediatric sub-specialists to ETSU, established an accredited pediatric residency at the university, and also recruited Dr. Philip Bagnell, dean of Quillen, and Dr. David Kalwinsky, to Johnson City.
Kalwinsky, who is now chair of Pediatrics at Quillen, said Adebonojo's contribution to children's health care in the region cannot be overestimated.
"Early on in his tenure at ETSU, Dr. Adebonojo championed a children's hospital within a hospital at Johnson City Medical Center, and he was instrumental in developing what became Niswonger Children's Hospital," Kalwinsky said. "Because the wide scope of learning opportunities at the conference directly influence the quality of health care that children receive in our region, this is an ideal time for us to remember Festus and salute his legacy.
"Festus was proud of Yale and proud of ETSU. He worked tirelessly for the welfare of our children."
The keynote speaker for this year's conference is Dr. R. Allen Coffman, who is president of the Tennessee chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics.
Elizabeth B. Brown will speak as a parent on the topic of "Surviving the Death of a Child - Help for Struggling Families." She and her husband, Dr. Paul E. Brown Jr., have made an impact at Quillen as well. One of the conference presenters - Dr. Apostolos Psychogios, medical director of the ETSU Division of Genetics - holds the LeeAnne Brown Chair of Excellence in Pediatrics, named for the Browns' daughter, a Johnson City girl who died in 1984 at age 6. The Chair of Excellence was founded in 1993 in her memory by the College of Medicin and the State of Tennessee, with additional gifts from her parents and their family and friends.
For a complete list of presentations, to register, or to request special assistance, visit the ETSU Office of CME website at www.etsu.edu/com/cme or call (423) 439-8027. The Quillen College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
January 31
USDA Telemedicine Grant for ETSU College of Medicine
"At 9 am today, ETSU Quillen College of Medicine received a $191,601 USDA Rural Development grant supporting telemedicine connections between Quillen and 5 counties in TN, KY, and VA. USDA's Rural Development State Director, Bobby Goode, presented the award to Associate Dean Barbara Sucher, who was accompanied by President Noland, Vice President Bishop, and Dean Bagnell. ETSU's eLearning office is helping with the technology behind the project."