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Guidelines for Regularly Scheduled Series (including Grand Rounds, Tumor Boards, M & M's, Journal Clubs and Series)

The brief guidelines below suggest the overall process for applying, conducting and documenting a Regularly Scheduled Series (RSS).  An expanded reference for Activity Directors and Coordinators regarding all CME forms, policies and procedures may be found on-line along with Learning Resources about how to conduct an activity.

Request a Sponsorship Agreement Packet
Apply for sponsorship of an RSS, by contacting Karen Hill at 216-983-1228 or e-mail karen.hill@case.edu or karen.hill@uhhospitals.org.

1. Important Considerations When Applying for Sponsorship

• A Regularly Scheduled Series (RSS) is defined as an activity that is planned to have 1) a series with multiple sessions that 2) occur on an ongoing basis (offered weekly, monthly, or quarterly) and 3) are primarily planned by and presented to the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, and affiliates, professional staff.
• RSS’s offer AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ which is maintained through our office.  Our office offers only AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™, which can be used by other disciplines to maintain their license as well.           
• Residents do not need this credit as they fulfill their requirements through their Residency Program. Residency attendance should be maintained at the department level. 
• A completed sponsorship agreement includes all required signatures, all requested attachments, and signed Financial Disclosures from the activity director, planning committee members and faculty.

2. Financial Disclosure Process and Forms

The Commercial Support Policy of the CME Program requires that the Activity Director, all planning committee members and all conference faculty provide disclosure of financial relationships. A Financial Disclosure form must be signed.  If a financial relationship is indicated, a Resolution of Conflict of Interest form must be completed by the Activity Director.  A sponsorship agreement cannot be approved until ALL disclosures and resolutions (if necessary) are submitted.

3. Approval

You will be notified in writing (preferably e-mail).  An invoice for sponsorship fee and guidelines for conducting the activity will be included with the approval letter.

4. Commercial Support

All commercial support, both monetary and in-kind, must be paid or contributed to Case Western Reserve University, one of its teaching affiliates or an entity subject to direct financial oversight by Case Western Reserve University.  Documentation must include:

• A Commercial Support Agreement between the provider and the commercial interest providing support.
• All financial contributions must be documented with a photocopy of the check and evidence of deposit.
• All in-kind contributions must be documented with a Commercial Support Agreement.

Once your office has received notification that funding has been approved from a commercial entity, notify our office at once!  We will then check to see if the Letter of Agreement (LOA) template from the specific company has been approved by CWRU Office of Counsel…

• If the LOA has been approved, we will proceed with the signatory process and return the signed LOA to your Program Coordinator to return to the company providing the funds.
• If the LOA has not been approved, then our office will send it to be reviewed by CWRU Office of Counsel.  They need to review and approve all LOA templates before the signatory process can take place.  Office of Counsel may ask for revisions to the LOA before the signatory process can begin.  Allow 4-6 weeks for this process.

5. Written Materials, Syllabus or Handouts

This is not a requirement for an RSS, however, we encourage all conferences to have education resources such as a syllabus or handout available to their participants.  When a syllabus or other handouts are provided, we expect a copy to be included in your session packet sent to our office.

6. Disclosure to Activity Participants

At the time of the conference, faculty are required to disclose their financial relationships to activity participants verbally and/or in writing.  We recommend having the speaker include this in this handout to the participants. 

7. Evaluation Process

Evaluation of the course is an annual requirement.  Evaluation should occur at the completion of the course but may take place as often as the Activity Director requests. Sample evaluation instruments are available through our office. 

8. Post Conference Submissions

We provide each RSS Coordinator a Session Checklist to help facilitate what needs to be sent to our office.  After each session, the Session Cover Sheet, Disclosure of the speaker, Resolution of Conflict (if necessary) and Sign-In Sheet is to be sent to the CME Office within 30 days of the meeting.

9.  CME Credits

Participants of RSS’s may obtain their credits on-line through our website at: http://casemed.case.edu/cme/.  Click on Credit Transcript on the left-hand side of the page and follow the instructions.  This service is complimentary. 

If you would prefer to have our office process the transcript for you, you must use the Transcript Request Form, which is also available on our website in the Credit Transcript area.  A $25 fee is required with this request. 

Please allow 4-6 weeks for credits to appear on your transcript.