Editors and manuscript reviewers for
Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP) can now earn continuing medical education (CME) credit by participating in the review of journal manuscripts. Manuscript review—one of the new educational activity formats approved by the American Medical Association (AMA) in 2006—acknowledges the learning experience inherent in conducting a thorough review of a peer-reviewed journal manuscript. After some initial interest expressed from its journal editors, ASCO conducted a short survey of current manuscript reviewers and confirmed that a majority would be interested in this additional opportunity for CME credit.
Reviewers can request up to 3
AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this activity, based on the time spent conducting each review, whether that manuscript is reviewed once or multiple times. ASCO can also provide non-physicians with a Certificate of Participation, which may enable these medical professionals to apply their activity participation hours toward re-licensure.
The process for requesting CME credit for manuscript review is simple and user-friendly. After the final editor review, participants will receive a thank-you e-mail message, which will include a link to the Manuscript Review CME Activity form. Once reviewers have accessed this link, they can fill out the required information on the survey and submit it. Within two weeks of submission, ASCO CME staff will process the reviewers’ certificates and send them via e-mail. ASCO Members’ certificates will also be posted on the
ASCO CME Bank; members can simply use their ASCO.org user name and password to access their certificate at any time.
For more information, please contact ASCO CME Staff at
cme@asco.org.
JOP Offers Series on Exemplary Attributes for Research Sites
Starting with the July 2008 issue, the
Journal of Oncology Practice (JOP) will include a series of articles outlining basic standards and exceptional practices for research sites. As part of the Society’s continuing focus on improving the clinical trials environment for researchers and patients, Robin Zon, MD, FACP, Neal J. Meropol, MD, Robert B. Catalano, PharmD, and ASCO President Richard L. Schilsky, MD, recently published an ASCO Special Article: “
American Society of Clinical Oncology Statement on Minimum Standards and Exemplary Attributes of Clinical Trial Sites” in the
Journal of Clinical Oncology (online April 7, 2008; in print May 20, 2008). This statement is the most recent product of ASCO’s commitment to support oncologists and other professionals engaged in clinical research. (
Read more information on the Statement.)
The
first article and the sidebar to appear in the JOP special series is written by Statement coauthor Dr. Zon, in which she describes the Statement and the impetus behind its creation. Beginning with the September 2008 issue of JOP, a closer examination of one or more of the named attributes will be combined with descriptions of specific steps that physicians at a research site can take to implement improvements. The ASCO Board of Directors hopes that the series as a whole may encourage community oncologists to consider how to enhance their research programs and also to give practitioners who are not already involved in research a clearer understanding of what the process involves.
