The Virtual Lecture Hall Physician CME Website


Q & A

Courses

VLH.com offers AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM intended for physicians (MDs and DOs) that hold licenses in the United States.

However, this credit type is also accepted by licensing bodies for other medical professions, including physican assistants (PAs), nurse practitioners (APRNs), and RNs. To the best of our knowledge, the following CME equivalency or reciprocity statements are accurate. We strongly advise calling each organization below to discern any extenuating circumstances.

  • PAs: The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts certificates of participation for educational activities certified for Category I credit from AOACCME, Prescribed credit from AAFP, and AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society. ( http://www.aapa.org)
  • APRNs: The American College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP) accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. ( http://www.aanp.org)
  • RNs/LPNs: For certification by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), they state that, "At least 50% (37.5 hours) of your 75 continuing education hours" can be CME (i.e., AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM) that is approved by organizations accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).
    ( https://www.nursingworld.org/certification/renewals/)

    Additionally, in many states nurses may claim credit for activities approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM, but you should check directly with your state nursing board for the amount of AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM they may accept.

  • Nurse Midwives: The American College of Nurse Midwives accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. ( http://www.midwife.org)
  • Psychologists: Some state boards Psychology accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM for license renewal. Please check with your applicable state board(s).
  • Chiropractors: The State Boards of Chiropractic for Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Washington DC Chiropractic Physicians (DC) accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM from organizations accredited by the ACCME.

Yes, VLH.com offers numerous courses that do meet special state requirements. To view a list of our courses that meet special state CME requirements, please click your desired state on this page, then view the courses as listed by the special state CME topic they meet.

We work closely with state licensing authorities to ensure that our programs comply with those states' special CME requirements in topics such as opioid prescribing practices, medical errors prevention, and medical ethics, among others.

Some states wish to see particular statements related to the type of content on your CME certificate, and we supply those statements on your CME certificates when you indicate you are licensed in particular states.

If a CME auditor asks for evidence that one of our courses meets their requirements, please send them a copy of your CME certificate as the first step. You can download a printable CME certificate from the "Certificates" page.

We charge $25 per credit/hour to view/print your certificate of participation. So, if a course is approved for 2 credits, you would pay $50 for the CME certificate, but you are not charged a fee to access the course material.

When you register an account at VLH.com - unless you have received a registration code from your institution or from one of our marketing efforts - you must pay a minimum of $25 for your 1st credit of CME, and you can purchase additional CME certificate funds at that time if you wish. Alternatively, you can pay for additional credits of CME after you complete additional courses.

Yes, you can. With their permission, we display user comments submitted by course completers. We also display aggregate ratings data submitted by users. You can view both the the user comments and the ratings data on the "User Reviews" tab for any course after clicking "Learn More" or "Begin" buttons on the Course lists.

To start a course, simply view the list of courses, click through to a desired course, and follow the onscreen instructions to study and complete the course at your own pace. You can pause the course at any time by simply closing your Internet browser. Of course, you must register an account before you can begin your study.

No, you don't - at least not in the typical sense of a test at the end of a course requiring, for example, a passing score of 75%.

However, you do need to complete correctly all mandatory assessment questions that are included in VLH.com courses (reattempts are allowed). Here's why.

Starting July 1, 2011, in order to award AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) TM, the AMA required CME providers of enduring materials to "Provide an assessment of the learner that measures achievement of the educational purpose and/or objective(s) of the activity with an established minimum performance level" ( AMA Physician Recognition Award and Credit System, 2010).

Therefore, all VLH.com programs incorporate a certain number of mandatory self-assessment questions that must be answered correctly before the participant is allowed to proceed in the course and earn a CME certificate. This makes the "established minimum performance level" for the mandatory assessment questions in all VLH.com courses 100%, with unlimited reattempts of those questions allowed.

The number of mandatory assessment questions is indicated to participants on the introductory page of all VLH.com programs.

Yes, you can. Simply close your web browser at the point you wish to pause a course. Later, when you come back to the site and re-enter that same program, you will see a link on the start page asking you to "Resume Activity". Resuming your activity will return you to the location where you paused the course.

Yes you can, and you can also receive a new certificate of participation. To do so, simply return to the start page for any course you previously completed and click the button that says "Clear Activity - Retake the Course". This will clear your past answers from your record, but it will not delete your former certificate record. After you complete the course a second (or third) time, a new certificate of participation will accrue on your Certificates page.

The NY DOH website does not yet list DOH-approved providers. This creates confusion because the DOH does link to the NY DOE's list of approved providers. However, the DOE does not approve training programs offered by physician organizations. This is the responsibility of the DOH. To complicate matters, physicians who complete courses from DOH-approved providers, must report them to the DOE, which (of course) has no information on those providers. Regardless, when you complete our Infection Control course, your CME certificate will contain the DOH-approved Infection Control Provider number - that is, if you indicated during registration that you are licensed in New York. If you did not, you can update your states of licensure from the "States" section of your homepage, then view the certificate again and the Infection Control Provider number will display on your certificate.

All our courses are sponsored by the CME offices of academic medical centers. These institutions have been accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM.

No, they are not. VLH.com does not offer any programs that have been supported or underwritten by unrestricted educational grants from industry. Any funding used for program development is derived from CME certificate fees or from state/federal grants.

Certificates

VLH.com offers AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM intended for physicians (MDs and DOs) that hold licenses in the United States.

However, this credit type is also accepted by licensing bodies for other medical professions, including physican assistants (PAs), nurse practitioners (APRNs), and RNs. To the best of our knowledge, the following CME equivalency or reciprocity statements are accurate. We strongly advise calling each organization below to discern any extenuating circumstances.

  • PAs: The American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA) accepts certificates of participation for educational activities certified for Category I credit from AOACCME, Prescribed credit from AAFP, and AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM from organizations accredited by ACCME or a recognized state medical society. ( http://www.aapa.org)
  • APRNs: The American College of Nurse Practitioners (ACNP) accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. ( http://www.aanp.org)
  • RNs/LPNs: For certification by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), they state that, "At least 50% (37.5 hours) of your 75 continuing education hours" can be CME (i.e., AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM) that is approved by organizations accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME).
    ( https://www.nursingworld.org/certification/renewals/)

    Additionally, in many states nurses may claim credit for activities approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM, but you should check directly with your state nursing board for the amount of AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM they may accept.

  • Nurse Midwives: The American College of Nurse Midwives accepts AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM. ( http://www.midwife.org)
  • Psychologists: Some state boards Psychology accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM for license renewal. Please check with your applicable state board(s).
  • Chiropractors: The State Boards of Chiropractic for Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Washington DC Chiropractic Physicians (DC) accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)TM from organizations accredited by the ACCME.

You earn CME credit/certificates by completing the required elements of a given program.

Some programs are smaller, consisting of 1-4 credits. Other programs carry credit from "1 to X" number of credits. For these programs, you are allowed to complete individual cases and earn credit for only the material you want/need to study.

No, you don't - at least not in the typical sense of a test at the end of a course requiring, for example, a passing score of 75%.

However, you do need to complete correctly all mandatory assessment questions that are included in VLH.com courses. You can reattempt the question if you answer incorrectly on your first attempt.

All VLH.com programs incorporate a certain number of mandatory self-assessment questions that must be answered correctly before the participant is allowed to proceed in the course and earn a CME certificate. This means the "established minimum performance level" for VLH.com courses is 100% of those mandatory questions, with unlimited reattempts allowed.

The number of mandatory assessment questions is indicated to participants on the introductory page of VLH.com programs.

Certificates for activities you complete are stored on your "Certificates" page. To view/print or save your certificates to your computer as PDF documents, go to the Certificates page and follow the onscreen instructions. [NOTE: We do not email, fax, or otherwise send certificates to you.]

When you register an account at VLH.com - unless you have received a registration code from your institution or from one of our marketing efforts - you must pay a minimum of $25 for your 1st credit of CME, and you can purchase additional CME certificate funds at that time if you wish. Alternatively, you can pay for additional credits of CME after you complete additional courses.

The certificate fee is $25 per credit/hour that you claim.

For example, if you complete a 4-credit course, and you claim 4 credits of participation, you will pay $100, and your certificate will state that you earned 4 credits of CME.

However, if you complete the same 4-credit course BUT you only claim 2 credits (hours) of participation in that activity, you would pay only $50, and your certificate would state that you earned 2 credits of CME.

To view/print your certificates, go to the Certificates page and follow the onscreen instructions. You can also save certificates to your computer as PDF documents.

If a certificate is not listed on your Certificates page, it is possible you actually did not complete all the required elements for that course - even though you think you did.

The easiest way to confirm this is to return to the program you believe you completed. If you see a link in the interface that says "Resume Activity", then you have not completed all the required elements or reached the final page of the program. Click that link, and you will return to where you last left the course. Then, continue finishing the remaining material to complete all elements of the course.

However, it is also possible that a technical error has occurred, and you will need to contact us for assistance. When you need assistance, please contact us by email, or you can call us 800-874-2849.

Payment

When you register your account, you must pay a minimum of $25 for your 1st credit of CME. But you can purchase more credits when you register your account if you wish. Alternatively, you can pay for additional credits of CME after you complete more courses. The choice is yours.

Regardless, after you pay the $25 minimum (or more) at the time you register your account, you can complete as many courses as you like at no further charge and only pay for CME certificates of participation when you need them.

You can pay with any major credit card (Visa/MasterCard, American Express, Discover). You can also pay by check. Further payment information is provided when you register an account . [NOTE: Non-US clients may experience difficulty paying via credit card online, as our system requires a US mailing address that is linked to where your credit card statements are sent.]

We do not save, store, or reuse your credit card information after your transaction is completed, and VLH employees cannot gain access to your credit card information.

Unless you have received a registration code from your institution or from one of our marketing efforts, there is a $25 minimum charge to access our CME courses whether you need a CME certificate or not.

Two ways:

1.) On your VLH.com homepage, at the bottom of the right column, locate the "Certificate Funds" section. Click the "Add More" button to add more certificate funds to your account.

2.) Or, after you complete a course, you will be prompted to visit your Certificates page. From that page, click "Get Certificate" for the certificate you want, then you will be prompted to complete the post-activity survey, claim the appropriate amount of credit, and pay the certificate fee.

The payment area of the Virtual Lecture Hall is secured using 256-bit SSL encryption. When you use our secure server, your credit card information is encrypted. We do not save, store, or reuse your credit card information. VLH.com employees cannot access your credit card information.

Your credit card statement will reflect a payment made to "UOFA VLHCOM EC." The Virtual Lecture Hall (VLH.com) is owned by The University of Arizona.

Yes, you can. You can view/print receipts from your Home page and/or from the Certificates page.

We want you to be happy with our site and service. If you decide that our service is not for you, we will be glad to refund any unused CME funds. We cannot refund money that has already been applied toward a certificate.

Technical

If you are able to remember either your username OR the email address you used to create your VLH account, click this link to retrieve your account information.

If you CANNOT remember either your username or your registered e-mail address, contact us with your full name, and we will send your account information to your registered email or to a new email address you are using.

A cookie is a small piece of information that is stored on your computer. Only the website that creates the cookie can read it. Our website uses cookies to customize your learning experience and to ensure the security of your communications with us - NOT to "spy" on your behavior online, or to sell your information to third parties. (View our privacy policy.)

First, you should have a current web browser installed on your computer. We do our best to optimize our site for Edge, Chrome, and Safari browsers on both the PC and MAC platforms.

Secondly, you will need the following software installed or enabled in order for our content to display properly in your browser:

  1. Web browser with JavaScript enabled. (JavaScript is usually enabled by default.)
  2. Current version of the free Adobe Reader installed OR other PDF viewer software (usually included with your web browser)

Yes, you do. You should set your pop-up blocking software to "allow" pop-ups from our site. Otherwise, you may not be able to access important course tutorials that we display in pop-up windows.

If you see somebody else's first and/or last name displaying when you log in, this is probably because you are sharing a computer with another registered user of our site, and you are logged onto their account.

This is easily fixed. While you are signed into the other person's account, simply locate the "Sign Out" link in the upper right corner of the screen. Click that link, and you will be signed out. Now sign back into the site with your username and password, and then your first and/or last name should display.

Technical support is available Monday through Friday from 9:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M., MST. Please email us or call 800-874-2849 if your questions have not been answered here.

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