Kuwait Institute for Medical Specialization
CME Center
Center for Continuing Medical Education
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Registration in MPC Program
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Credit Point System
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Credit Point System

CME/CPD Categories
Credit Allocation
Reciprocal Recognition of CME Credits

CME/CPD Certificates

The CME Center issues two types of CME/CPD certificates:

1. MPC Certificate
     To certify satisfactory completion of CME/CPD at the end of the five-year      cycle, when the specified credit point total is reached;

 2. CME/CPD Status Certificate
    Certifies the current CME/CPD status of the practitioner. Issued in the     following situations:
    i. When required by the administrative authorities for decisions on        appointments/promotions;
   ii. When practitioners terminate their services in Kuwait.

Category 1
Category 1 CME/CPD activities comprise formal and structured learning opportunities offered at a national level by recognized educational or scientific institutions, or professional bodies. The CME Providers accredited in this group are:
   Faculties and Scientific Committees of KIMS;
   Health Sciences Faculties of Kuwait University;
   Specialty divisions of the Ministry of Health;
   Health professions associations.
The activities are usually scheduled and held at venues that would allow all concerned practitioners to attend.

Category 2
Category 2 activities are essentially of a self-learning nature, or are planned and conducted with a local participant group in mind. Category 2 also includes activities such as the following that are ongoing at health care, educational or scientific institutions:

  • Patient care review activities, journal clubs, morbidity/mortality meetings
  • Teaching of medical and other health professionals
  • Writing questions for use in examinations
  • Use of self-assessment examinations and reviews
  • Use of approved self-instructional material, including computer assisted instruction
  • Use of distance learning programs
  • Reading scientific papers in journals and other related professional publications
  • Viewing posters at Scientific Poster Displays (maximum will be decided)
  • Conducting research in health-related disciplines
  • Publication of medical/dental books or articles, books and exhibits related to medicine/dentistry
  • Attendance at conferences, seminars or symposia organized by recognized educational institutions, which have been classified under Category 2
  • Self-directed study undertaken as preparation for examinations
  • Personal Development Plans and Practice Improvement Plans

Operative procedures relayed live to a group of practitioners may be considered for registration as CME/CPD only if they form a practical component of a planned learning activity and the CME Center is provided with information on the learning objectives, content area and how the observers are to be guided during the session.

Credit points may be accumulated during a five-year cycle. Medical and dental practitioners are required to acquire a total of 250 credits within the five year cycle. For pharmacists, this target has been set at 125 credits.

Credit Allocation

Category 1
Educational activities classified under Category 1, in general, entitle the participants to claim 1 credit of CME for one contact hour of educational activity. Lectures, symposia, seminars etc. that are structured and formal come in this group. Credits for group learning sessions and practical/clinical training sessions are calculated at the rate of 0.5 credit per contact hour.

A single lecture presentation will entitle the participant to claim a maximum of one credit point, irrespective of the duration of the presentation.

Category 2
Category 2 activities entitle participants to earn 0.5 credit of CME for every hour of education. These would include attending conferences, symposia, group learning sessions, seminars, etc. that have been classified as Category 2 by KIMS. Educational activities such as the use of approved self-instructional material, including computer assisted instruction and reading scientific papers in journals and other professional publications qualify the applicant for credit at the same rate.

Scientific papers published in refereed journals entitle the author(s) to CME credit as follows:
   1st (or single) author - 5 CME credits
   2nd author - 3 CME credits
   3rd author (and beyond) - 2 CME credit

Combining credits in Category 1 and Category 2
The total number of credits to be acquired in the five-year cycle (Medical and dental practitioners - 250 credits; pharmacists - 125 credits) may be reached by combining the credits accumulated based on activities falling solely within Category 1, or by a combination of those included under Category 1 and those in Category 2. However, Category 2 activities may be cited for credit only up to a maximum of 40% (Medical and dental practitioners - 100 credits; pharmacists - 40 credits) of the total requirement.

Transfer of CME/CPD credits from Category 2 to Category 1
When practitioners do not have sufficient CME/CPD credits to satisfy the administrative requirements announced by the Ministry of Health, the CME Center will consider including CME/CPD credits from selected self-learning sections of Category 2 under Category 1 for the issue of CME Status Certificates. Such situations will be dealt with on a case-to-case basis.

Applications that report credits gained based on Category 2 activities need to be accompanied by a signed statement from the CME Officer of the concerned specialty, or from the Head of the Unit/Division/Department to which the applicant is attached, authenticating the validity of the information.

Exclusion from Credit
Non-educational activities such as service on a medical society may not be cited for claiming CME credit.