AST Continuing Education Policies for the CST and CSFA - 4 year Certification Cycle

11 CONTINUING EDUCATION – ENDURING MATERIAL AST CE Credit Value for Enduring Material CE credits are awarded as follows for completing CE articles or courses. The CE article or course must be a minimum of 2,000 words in length. The word count does not include the headings, title of article, post-article exam, reference page, or bibliography. a) 2,000 – 2,499 words equals 1.0 CE credits b) 2,500 – 2,999 words equals 1.25 CE credits c) 3,000 – 3,499 words equals 1.5 CE credits d) 3,500 – 3,999 words equals 1.75 CE credits Member and Nonmember: Proprietary CE Provider Processing Fee CE credits earned through a proprietary CE provider are subject to a processing fee. The fee does not apply to healthcare facility in-services, AST sponsored programs and enduring materials, State Assembly meetings, college courses, physician non-profit organization’s programs, and AST approved programs offered by other non-profit health organizations. * 1-10 CE credits $15 processing fee * 31 – 40 $60 * 11 – 20 $30 * 41 – 50 $75 * 21 – 30 $45 * 51+ $90 Enduring Material a) Enduring material is self-directed learning in which the CST and CSFA independently completes a CE activity that is AST approved. The CST and CSFA should verify that the enduring material activity is AST approved prior to completing. 1. AST does not accept enduring material CE provided by CIOs. b) Methods of enduring material include: 1. CE articles that includes completing a post-article exam that are offered hard-copy or electronically, or 2. viewing recorded lectures and completing a post-lecture exam that are offered online, on CD, DVD, or video tape, or other electronic means. c) Documentation requirement: 1. AST members and non-members refer to “Submitting CE Credits to AST” on pages 3 - 4 for information as related to submitting AST sponsored enduring material activities for CE credits. 2. Upon completion of an enduring material activity offered by a proprietary CE provider or non-profit organization, the CST and CSFA must submit the certificate of completion provided by the non-profit organization or proprietary CE provider with the AST CE Reporting Form . Writing for Health-Related Publications a) When writing a CE article for publication, the journal or magazine must be a health-related publication. Additionally, the publisher must have a peer-review process in place to determine if the CE article meets the publishing standards of the journal or magazine. b) CE credits will only be awarded for the initial publication of a CE article.