In the summer of 2009, Dr. Murray Kopelow, Chief Executive of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education had to address the U.S. Senate Committee on Aging to defend his organization's policies and procedures regarding protection of continuing medical education from influences of commercial interests, particularly pharmaceutical companies. With so much attention given to this issue at the federal level, there are many learners and faculty who are unaware of the reasons for strict procedures and documentation required for continuing education. 

   As as nurse, you may be wondering what this has to do with you. For one thing, the ACCME Standards of Commercial Support were adopted by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation to ensure that continuing nursing education activities are free from bias related to medical products. Also organizations that provide interprofessional education e.g. activities for both physicians and nurses,  must follow all of the ACCME standards in order to maintain accreditation. The issue at hand is that continuing education providers and accrediting bodies have to protect the independence and scientific integrity of continuing education. While these concerns were directed at physicians because of their prescriptive authority, there are some categories of nurses who are involved in making decisions on purchasing products, making recommendations, and prescribing treatments. Some examples are nurse executives, wound ostomy and continence nurses, and nurse practitioners.

   Lippincott Williams & Wilkins Continuing Education Group goes through great lengths to sanitize our CE activities by prohibiting employees of medical product industries from presenting or authoring continuing education activities. We obtain and publish financial disclosure of faculty, authors, and planners, and we conduct peer reviews of learning materials. Sometimes speakers are offended by being rejected on the grounds that they are employed by the medical product industry, and some feel that our disclosures are an invasion of privacy. However, LWW must comply with these policies and respond to those who feel they are not treated fairly by educating them about the standards. We will stand firm on these policies and will not compromise.

   When you read our journals or attend our conferences, you probably have noticed these disclosure statements, but what do they represent to you?  I'm curious to know if continuing education participants would know if the author or presenter has a conflict of interest or recognize bias in the learning materials. The following is a short list of violations of the standards of commercial support. You be the judge on whether your next CE is biased.

1. A product vendor gives you the CE materials.
2. There is only one product mentioned as treatment of a disorder without specific reference to a research study, practice standard, or mention that it is the only FDA approved treatment for the condition.
3. There are no statements of financial disclosure included in the learning materials.
4. Name brands of pharmaceuticals are listed instead of generic names.