History

1976 - Beginnings

SACME established on April 2 as the Society of Medical College Directors of Continuing Medical Education (SMCDCME)

1981

First issue of Möbius published

First Survey of Society members (Richard L. Moore)

1982

First call for research papers (Nancy Bennett)

1984

Support of the Research and Development Resource Base in CME by the Society (Dave Davis)

RICME I, Research in Continuing Medical Education (David Gullion, Lucy Ann Geiselman, Chairs)

Training of Society interviewers for "The Change Study"

1985

200 interviews for "The Change Study" conducted

1987

First issue of INTERCOM published in January (Harold Paul, Dene Murray, Editors)

Joint AAMC/SMCDCME plenary highlights "The Change Study"

1988

RICME III, First Congress on CME

First honorary member of the Society (Cyril Houle)

Title change from Mobius to The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions

Development of first membership brochure

1989

Strategic Plan for the Society

Membership in the Council of Academic Societies

1990

First meeting of the "Ancient Order of Armadillos" (Past Presidents) convened in San Antonio

1994

Research Endowment Council established

Task force white paper, "The connection between continuing medical education and health care reform" released

1995

Gloria Allington serves as first female president

Request from AAMC for statement on CME

Reorganization of AAMC's Group on Educational Affairs (GEA)

Pew-Glaxo Working Group on the Future of Academic CME

Report of Society working group on ACCME essentials and standards, "Future directions for medical college continuing medical education" released

Request from ACCME for SACME accreditation surveyors

1996

Society invited to participate in task force on the restructuring of the ACCME

1997

SMCDCME listserv established (Bob Bollinger)

1998

July 20, SMCDCME re-named the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME)

1999

SACME website created by Bob Bollinger

2000

Phil Manning Research Award in Continuing Professional Development established

SACME "Report of the Task Force on Accreditation and Credit" released May 14

2001

Fox Award for Best Research Presentation established with Michael Allen as first recipient

"Women's Health Project Report" released (Linda K. Gunzburger)

2002

Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions indexed in Index Medicus for the first time

2003

SARS pandemic outbreak; Dave Davis and others enlisted to address urgent CME needs in Toronto

2004

5th World Congress on CME "Linking Information, Education, and Implementation: How CME Helps Translate Knowledge into Practice" (The CME Olympics) held at University of Toronto

2005

AAMC appointed Dave Davis its Petersdorf Scholar

2007

Society archives established at the McGovern Historical Center, Texas Medical Center Library at Baylor by Michael Fordis

2008

Sixth World Congress on CME “Advancing the Global CME/CPD Agenda: A Consortium Approach” held at University of British Columbia

First AAMC Annual Integrating Quality and Education Conference, and Steering Committee Meeting held in Chicago, Illinois

SACME aligned with Agency for Healthcare Research (AHRQ) to integrate quality initiatives with continuing medical education

SACME, ACCME, and Mayo Clinic hosted the National Consensus Conference on CME

2009

SACME Sixth Summer Institute for CME Research held on June 14-17 at University of Toronto

2010

First SACME Summer Leadership Institute held on July 26 at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

2011

Pilot AAMC “Aligning Education for Quality (AE4Q)” initiative launched in Washington, DC (Dave Davis, Director of AAMC CME Section; Nancy Davis, Consultant)

New SACME website launched

2012

Barbara Barnes, MD Keynote Address at SACME Annual Meeting established on March 31st

2013

SACME Professional Learning Community (PLC) established and launched with program “Using Social Media”

Pfizer awarded $400,000 grant to support SACME Intervention Guideline Series (Terminology and Typology Project)

2014

SACME Virtual Journal Club (VJC) established

2015

SACME Fall Meeting was first to receive Accreditation and Credit Designation from Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through joint providership with USF Health

2016

SACME organizes 8th World Congress on CME "Advancing Learning and Care in the Health Professions"

2017

SACME Spring Meeting became the official Annual Meeting and SACME Fall Meeting discontinued

SACME Academy of Fellows launched at 2017 Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona

SACME book Continuing Professional Development in Medicine and Healthcare: Better Education, Better Patient Outcomes launched at signing at Annual Meeting

SACME assumed responsibility for publication of CE News from the AAMC, originally started as a list of citations compiled by Carol Goddard; Robert D’Antuono appointed editor.

2018

Ad hoc Committee on New Technologies to Support Innovative CPD appointed

SACME exhibited at the annual Association of Medical Educators of Europe (AMEE) Meeting held August 25-29 in Basel, Switzerland facilitating international awareness of SACME.

2019

AAMC shared initiatives with SACME including Quality Improvement and Patient Safety (QUIPS) Competencies Project

2020

SACME Award for Best Early Career Researcher, SACME Award for Best Oral Abstract, and SACME Award for Best Poster Presentation established and awarded at Annual Meeting

2021

Due to continuing COVID-19 pandemic, first virtual Annual Meeting “The Art and Science of CPD” held online

Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions celebrates 40th Anniversary

SACME selected by ACCME to develop CME Educator’s Toolkit

2022

SACME established the Paul E. Mazmanian, PhD Research Fellowship Award for Early Career Investigators

The CE Educator’s Toolkit: Evidence-based design and implementation strategies for effective continuing education completed and disseminated

2023

SACME Annual Meeting “Inspiring and Igniting the CPD Imagination” held via hybrid format in Nashville, Tennessee

2024

Board approved new Executive Secretariat; transitioned in Fall from Bostrom Management Company in Chicago, Illinois to Custom Management Group in Charlottesville, Virginia.

2025

SACME debuted the CPD Scholarship Program: Advancing Research and Evaluation in Health Professional Education

SACME established the Excellence in Service to SACME Award to celebrate the first annual Healthcare Continuing Education Professionals Day with Tym Peters as the first recipient

2026

SACME celebrates 50 years, 1976 to 2026

SACME Annual Meeting: 50th Anniversary Celebration to be held March 22-26 in Lexington, Kentucky