Tampa, Fla., Jan. 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- At the 15th Annual National Association of Medical Education Companies (NAMEC) Best Practice Awards last week, leaders in the continuing medical education (CME) industry presented the award for Best Practice in Innovative Educational Methods to Global Education Group and Educational Awareness Solutions for developing a program to help family physicians team up more effectively with diabetes patients to treat their condition. Global Education Group is a division of Ultimate Medical Academy that produces partnership-based CME for healthcare practitioners. Global is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) and the American Nurses Credentialing Centers (ANCC). It also holds accreditations to offer continuing education for nurse practitioners, pharmacists, dieticians, dentists and psychologists. **
The award-winning program “Partnering with Patients to Keep Diabetes in Check” employed gamification and customized learning to present important medical education in a novel and fun way. Participants use their smartphones to navigate and interact with activities via text messaging. Global and EAS also created a responsive companion online website, which allowed participants to learn on their own schedule and check their progress before, during and after participating.
The four-part, arcade-like experience provided immersive CME for the treatment of diabetes and was offered during the American Academy of Family Physicians’ (AAFP) 2019 Family Medicine Experience (FMX) conference. The website extended the activity to AAFP members who were unable to attend this year’s FMX.
“The Centers for Disease Control estimates than more than 23 million Americans have been diagnosed with a form of diabetes, and nearly a quarter of all Americans living with diabetes are undiagnosed. It is among the top ten leading causes of death in the United States,” said Andrea Funk, Vice President of Education at Global. “By developing high-quality continuing education on this condition for family physicians, we can play a leading role in preventing and controlling this disease nationwide, and improving the provision of healthcare in the U.S.”
NAMEC presented its award to the development team on Wednesday, Jan. 8 during the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (ACEHP) Conference in San Francisco. The development team included Andrea Funk and Project Manager Ashley Cann from Global. The team also included representatives from Educational Awareness Solutions: Managing Director Jamie Miller, Editor Daniel Romanowitz, Project Managers Maria DelCegno and Michael Midgette, and Systems Developer Orazio Lentini.
** UMA is institutionally accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (ABHES). The continuing medical education programs are not included within the institution’s grant of accreditation from ABHES.
About Global Education Group: Global Education Group’s mission is to effectively manage, design, implement and measure the healthcare impact of continuing education interventions that promote clinical competence and performance improvement. Based on needs assessments that identify gaps in knowledge between current and best practices, Global and its partners develop content that focuses on relevant, evidence-based practices for primary care and specialty audiences. We maintain exemplary programs by managing self-directed and other live and enduring education activities, collaborating in strategic partnerships, developing expert faculty, and relying on established principles of adult learning and evidence-based medicine to improve the provision of healthcare.
About Educational Awareness Solutions: Educational Awareness Solutions (EAS) is an independent, privately-owned, non-accredited medical education provider founded in 2001. EAS employs unique and innovative methods and designs in its development and production of activities for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and allied healthcare professionals. EAS seeks to increase quality of patient care by targeting identified unmet needs based upon outcomes research, healthcare statistics, literature searches, and direct testimony from experts and professionals surveyed in the healthcare community.
About the National Association of Medical Education Companies (NAMEC): NAMEC is a professional association dedicated to providing representation, advocacy, and education for its members. NAMEC supports the advancement of certified education as an integral part of the healthcare community in improving patient health outcomes. NAMEC fosters increased collaboration among certified education stakeholders and serves as a forum for discussion of issues, challenges, and opportunities relevant to both MECs and the certified education companies.
About Ultimate Medical Academy: Ultimate Medical Academy is a nonprofit healthcare educational institution with a national presence. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida and founded in 1994, the school has more than 55,000 alumni and offers content-rich, interactive online courses to more than 14,000 students as well as hands-on training to hundreds of students. UMA students have access to academic advising, one-on-one or group tutoring, resume and interview coaching, job search assistance, technical support, and more. UMA is institutionally accredited by the Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools. Learn more by visiting https://www.ultimatemedical.edu/.