3 Ways to Earn CME this Summer
February 28, 2024
CME conferences are slowly returning this summer. So are other ways to earn CME credits that may fit better into your pseudo post-covid world
Updated: November 3, 2024
By Jordan P. Roberts, PA-C
Top Online Psychiatry CME Resources
Looking to earn CME credits in psychiatry but unsure where to start? From comprehensive courses to specialized modules, discover platforms offering flexible, high-quality education to keep your skills sharp and knowledge current in psychiatry.
Psychiatry CME
For the past year or so, I’ve been back in clinical practice in psychiatry. And for me, getting back into practice meant one thing: CME. Lots and lots of CME. Even before returning to practice, I was teaching psychiatry as an adjunct professor.
Since I’ve done so much psychiatry CME over the last several months (and years), I thought it would be nice to share what’s worked for me and why to help the next psychiatric professionals coming after me. While I love my in-person conferences, I have stuck to primarily online CME lately for a variety of reasons both personal and practical. The main draw for me is that I can learn and earn credits anytime throughout the year.
So with that in mind, here are my favorite online psychiatry CME resources from my time in practice and education.
1. StatPearls Psychiatry CME
Cost: Free to $2,999 for lifetime access
Some activities are free, and a lot of the content is free to access without CME. StatPearls also has subscription plans that will run you $329 for six months or $499 for a year. The best deal is probably the lifetime subscription, which is a single payment of $2,999 and gets you access to CME credits for life as well as board review materials.
Psychiatry CME Credits Available: literally hundreds, if not thousands
There are currently 387 general psychiatry CME activities, 147 addiction psychiatry activities, 175 child and adolescent psychiatry activities, 248 consult-liaison activities, and 150 geriatric psychiatry activities. PAs looking to earn a CAQ in psychiatry can choose from 309 CME activities to prepare for the exam.
Each activity is accredited for 0.5 to 2 CME credits or more. More CME is being added on a regular basis, so you’ll always stay up to date as long as your subscription is active.
Why I Like It (Features): StatPearls has tons of articles that you can read on your desktop or phone, as well as quality practice questions, a quiz builder, and drug monographs. One thing I love about StatPearls is the deep dives into more niche areas of each specialty, such as antihistamine toxicity, school refusal, risk assessment, and tardive dyskinesia just to name a few. There is also a point of care tool that lets you search anything and provides a quick answer and relevant articles for more information. You can get access to this (plus associated CME) for $59 per month or $599 per year.
2. AudioDigest Psychiatry CME
Cost: From $299 to $1099 (plus optional gift card)
Access to AudioDigest comes in one year memberships with varying tiers.
The Silver Membership is $499 (or $549 with a $50 gift card) and gets you at least 50 lectures (48+ credits) with over 30 hours of listening.
A Gold Membership is $699 (or $1099 with a $400 gift card) and provides 180+ CME credits from 150 lectures over the course of 85+ hours of listening. This is best for folks interested in a single specialty (psychiatry is one of them) and want to get all their CME credits for the year in one place.
Finally, the Platinum Membership is $999 (or $1,999 with a $1,000 gift card) and gets you access to the entire library of AudioDigest content across all specialties.
Get a free gift card or a 7-day free trial to help you decide.
Psychiatry CME Credits Available: 48 to 180+
Why I Like It (Features): AudioDigest is easy to use, with a mobile app for both Android and iOS. This makes it easy to pop on a lecture if I’m driving to the office or walking around town and have a few minutes to learn something. That’s usually not enough time to get through an entire talk, but it works for me.
3. CMEinfo Insider
Cost: From $999 to $2,249 (with optional gift card)
Psychiatry CME Credits Available: Unlimited
Why I Like It (Features): CMEinfo Insider is one of my favorite options for earning a boatload of high-quality CME in a variety of formats. They have written articles, video lectures, and audio recordings for hours. It is also one of the largest CME with gift card offers out there at the time of writing.
4. BoardVitals Psychiatry CME
Cost: $889 for 6 months or $999 for 12 months
CME Credits Available: 40
Why I Like It (Features): BoardVitals has two psychiatry CME activities that I’ve tried: general psychiatry and addiction medicine. Both were great resources to refresh and enhance my knowledge of psychiatry and addiction medicine.
The format is board-style multiple choice question and answer followed by a discussion. The questions test your knowledge, sure, but the real benefit is in the explanations that provide a thorough discussion of all aspects of the test item.
The BoardVitals app is also modern and easy to use, making it convenient to tackle when you have a few extra minutes here and there.
5. Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Podcast
Cost: Free to $320/year
CME Credits Available: 245.5 +
Why I Like It (Features): If it isn’t clear by now, I love listening to my CME. This podcast has been around for a few years now and it’s been great to follow the host Dr. Puder in his journey from starting this until now. The work he has put into this podcast has certainly made me a better clinician, and I’m sure countless others can say the same.
6. The Carlat Report
Cost: from $374.50 to $860.85 per year
Carlat Publishing offers newsletters in general psychiatry, child psychiatry, addiction treatment, hospital psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and psychotherapy in addition to podcasts, webinars, and books. The books offered include the well known Medication Fact Book for Psychiatric Practice and Psychiatry Practice Boosters, which are available as an add-on to the Total Access Subscription.
CME Credits Available: up to 150
The lowest tier (in terms of CME credits and price) comes with a total of 44 Category 1 CME Credits and costs just $374.50 for the year. The highest tier provides access to all the newsletters, podcasts, webinars, and print and online versions of their four books, including Child Medication Fact Book for Psychiatric Practice and Prescribing Psychotropics: Fro mDrug Interacts to Pharmacogenetics and nets you 150 CME credits for the year.
Why I Like It (Features): The Carlat Podcast is just a great source of updated information that comes out every couple of weeks. The publication is fully supported by audience subscriptions and takes no funding from the pharmaceutical industry.
7. Neuroscience Education Institute (NEI)
Cost: $219 for one year; or save with a multi-year subscription up to five years
CME Credits Available: literally hundreds of them
Why I Like It (Features): NEI has tons of resources for the psychiatric professional. Some of my favorites include the NEI Prescribe app (free 90 day trial) and the Master Psychopharmacology Program. There is also a free podcast that is jam-packed with clinical pearls and expert insights. Some of the episodes are available for CME credit if you have a membership with NEI. Stephen Stahl, MD has a huge presence within the NEI world, and I think many of us have at least one of his pharmacology books on our shelves. And bonus if you like dad jokes like I do, because Stahl is full of them.
Subscribe to Modern MedEd
First Published: November 3, 2024
Further Reading
How Much CME Money Should You Have? (with updated 2022 data)
August 11, 2023
The allotted amount of CME money individual clinicians receive ranges wildly. Here's an evidence-based search for a fair CME allowance
