American Board of Ophthalmology (ABO) diplomates certified in 1992 and thereafter must extend the validity of their certificates in 10-year periods by participating in the Maintenance of Certification (MOC) process. Part of the process requires ethics-specific CME.

Requirements
Three CME credits in ethics are required in each 10-year period. The ABO has no specific guidelines regarding courses that will satisfy this requirement except that the word "ethics" must be in the course title and it must be designated as ethics by the sponsoring organization. The board may accept or reject any ethics course based on content. Be sure to keep your course content documentation for proof of validity.

The MOC process is designed to be completed in incremental stages throughout the 10-year cycle. Refer to the ABO Web site (www.abop.org) for the cycle corresponding to your initial certificate expiration date. Ethics CME can be obtain at any time during each cycle.

Academy Courses
The Academy offers three ethics courses, in both online and audio formats, and is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The American Academy of Ophthalmology designates each ethics course for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The Academy’s Ethics Committee also offers the Bettman Ethics Education Lecture Program for residency institutions and state/sub-specialty societies, which may also offer ethics CME.

Additional courses are usually offered during the Academy's Annual Meeting as well. Check this page later in the year for information on ethics courses offered as part of the 2009 Joint Meeting in San Francisco.

Questions? E-mail Mara Pearse Burke, ethics program manager, at ethics@aao.org for more information.