Helpful resources for YOU.

Promoting the science and art of medicine, care and well-being of patients, protection of the public health, and betterment of the medical profession.

Continuing Medical Education

Santa Barbara County Consortium for Continuing Medical Education

The Santa Barbara County Consortium for Continuing Medical Education (Consortium) was established in 1977 with a mission to elevate the standard of medical education for physician members across the local healthcare landscape. This collaborative initiative serves as a cornerstone for fostering professional growth and knowledge enhancement within Santa Barbara County's medical community. By pooling resources and expertise, the Consortium ensures that CME programs are tailored to meet the diverse educational requirements of physicians spanning various specialties and practice settings.

Current Consortium members are the California Retina Research Foundation, CenCal Health, Central Coast Medical Association, Cottage Health, Lompoc Valley Medical Center, Marian Regional Medical Center, Sansum Clinic, Santa Barbara County Public Health Department, and Tri-County Dermatology Society.

CME Transcripts

To obtain a copy of your CME transcript of activities provided through the Santa Barbara County Consortium for CME, contact cme [at] ccmahealth.org.

Cultural and Linguistic Competency & Implicit Bias

The California legislature intended AB 1195 and AB 241 to “encourage physicians and surgeons to meet the cultural and linguistic concerns” of California’s diverse patient population. Planners, faculty, and speakers are central to adhering to state law as noted in Business and Professions (B&P) Code 2190.2, which codifies the aforementioned legislation.

AB-1195 Continuing education: cultural and linguistic competency

AB-241 Implicit bias: continuing education: requirements

Cultural and Linguistic Competency (CLC): The ability and readiness of health care providers and organizations to humbly and respectfully demonstrate, effectively communicate, and tailor delivery of care to patients with diverse values, beliefs, identities and behaviors, in order to meet social, cultural, and linguistic needs as they relate to patient health.

Implicit Bias (IB): The attitudes, stereotypes and feelings, either positive or negative, that affect our understanding, actions and decisions without conscious knowledge or control. Implicit bias is a universal phenomenon. When negative, implicit bias often contributes to unequal treatment and disparities in diagnosis, treatment decisions, levels of care and health care outcomes of people based on race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability and other characteristics.

Diversity: Having many different forms, types, or ideas; showing variety. Demographic diversity can mean a group composed of people of different genders, races/ethnicities, cultures, religions, physical abilities, sexual orientations or preferences, ages, etc.

Additional resources, tools, and examples can be found at www.cmadocs.org/cme-standards.

Donations

As a physician, you know the importance of continuing medical education in staying up to date with the latest medical knowledge and advances in your field. CME programs play a vital role in providing the educational resources that physicians need to improve their practice and provide better patient care.

CME has become more expensive and time-consuming than ever. You might not realize the staff resources and physician volunteer time spent to maintain our ability to provide you with CME. Each CME activity requires specific mandatory documentation, which must be completed with precision. This documentation is submitted when we go through our re-accreditation process, which occurs every four years and requires significant hours and fees.

In addition, we are required to track and store CME activity information. Ensuring the information is accurately entered to be able to provide transcripts for physicians and documents for re-accreditation is a laborious process.

To help us continue our work, you can make a donation payable to the Central Coast Medical Association and include a note on the memo line stating, “Donation CME Consortium.” Mail your check to:

SBC Consortium for CME
c/o Central Coast Medical Association
5142 Hollister Ave # 143
Santa Barbara, CA 93111-2526

Please be advised that CCMA is a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization. We recommend consulting your tax advisor for assistance with the proper classification of your payment for tax purposes.