Virginia Academy of Family Physicians Offering Learning Sessions for SAM

The Virginia Academy of Family Physicians is offering group learning sessions to assist Academy members with the completion of the Self Assessment Modules (SAM) that are required by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) for completion of the Maintenance of Certification process.

In Virginia, family physicians care for over 50% of the people with asthma, including approximately 50% children. The American Board of Family Medicine has established new recertification opportunities for enhanced practice in asthma. Any physician that certified or recertified in July 2003 or after is required to complete a SAM each year. These sessions provide the knowledge base for completion of the requirements. The faculty team will present each of the 60 questions on the test and discuss the important teaching points for each, which will facilitate the participant's completion of each item. They will also guide the participants through the patient management simulation module. Internet access will be provided to allow completion of the entire SAM such that when the participants leave this session, they will have completed their yearly ABFM requirement and will have received a total of 15 CME credits!

The group sessions offer an opportunity to convey fundamental treatment and management issues in asthma care. These include practice redesign, more effective use of community resources, methods to overcome barriers to care and the pathophysiology, classification, treatment, and ongoing care of asthmatics. The session provides practical tools such as the ACT, visit records, and other decision support materials.

An asthma group learning session is scheduled on Saturday, July 14, 2007, at the Richard Bland College Campus in Petersburg, VA, from 8:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. To register for the session, please visit www.vafp.org or call 1-800-THE-VAFP.