Becoming a licensed physician takes years upon years of education, internships, residencies, fellowships and more hard work and discipline than you would ever imagine. For anyone, learning is a job that is never done and physicians are no exceptions. The medical field is always changing its guidelines and introducing new technologies to help serve patients better, which requires physicians to stay up to date on new happenings. In Illinois, physicians are required to have a specific amount of continuing education credits when they go to renew their licenses every three years. Not fulfilling those education requirements could jeopardize your ability to renew your medical license and your ability to practice medicine in the state of Illinois.
CME Requirements
According to the Illinois State Medical Society, physicians will be required to complete at least 150 hours of continuing medical education (CME) if they plan to renew their medical license in 2020. The only licensees who are exempt from that rule are those who are renewing their medical licenses for the first time.
Further, Illinois law requires that at least 40 percent (or 60 hours) of CME must be completed in formal CME programs that are permitted to designate an activity as eligible for Category 1 credit. A maximum of 60 percent (or 90 hours) of CME is permitted to be completed in informal CME programs or activities, which can include things such as medical teaching, participation in patient care review activities and the use of self-instructive materials.
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