American Medical Association and American Osteopathic Association credit systems: accomplishing dual credit for a conference.
The need for collaboration in medical education is increasingly evident as allopathic and osteopathic physician communities continue to train physicians cooperatively. Therefore, ventures that hold dual accreditation in continuing medical education (CME) have increasing appeal to both physician groups. The Berkshire Medical Conference, a nationally accredited CME activity held annually in western Massachusetts and cosponsored by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Berkshire Medical Center, and Berkshire Area Health Education Center, offered dual accreditation to allopathic and osteopathic physicians for the first time in its 16-year history. This dually accredited conference is the first such collaborative venture in the region. The specific criteria for accreditation for both physician groups were fulfilled, and the content also proved to be equally relevant. Evaluations indicated that learning objectives were met and the collaboration was successful in terms of the information learned by and about each group of physicians. As collaborative CME activities develop in the medical community, it is hoped that the lessons learned from the 16th Annual Berkshire Medical Conference, "Collaborations in Medicine," will serve as a model for future conferences and cooperative ventures between allopathic and osteopathic physicians.