Pre-approved and accredited CPEs? Or not?

I often get the question, “Does a CPE need to be preapproved or from a CDR accredited provider?”. I think the majority of dietitians assume preapproval or accreditation is required. So, should we only be logging CPEUs from accredited providers or those that are preapproved?
The short is answer is no.
But there’s more to the story!
If the program is a self-study or on-demand program, it must be in one of these categories:
- pre-approved by CDR,
- delivered by a CDR accredited provider,
- offered by a “partner” organization. Partner organizations include:
- American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP)
American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP)
American Academy of Physician Assistants (AAPA)
Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME)
Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE)
American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC)
American Psychiatric Association (APA)
American Psychological Association (APA)
American Public Health Association (APHA)
If the program is a live, in person event, or a “live”, virtual (on-line) event, then the preapproval and accredited standards do not apply. However, the “live” event must be dietetics-related and directed towards education of professionals (i.e. not the general public).
So there you have it… if you’re watching a recording or doing a self-study program, you must be very careful with approval. If it is a live event, you’ve got a bit of leeway!
For full details, you are strongly encouraged to review CDR’s PDP Guide before submitting non-accredited or pre-approved programs for your Professional Development Portfolio.
Originally Published 2/2/2018
This is so very helpful! Do you promote live events? I am already doing one through the wonderful EDPro..
I am retired in terms of being registered as a dietitian, otherwise I would know the answer to my question: do you have a link for how I apply to become a pre-approved provider for self study or recorded videos
Hi Francie,
I don’t have anything on Dietitian Hub for it, but here is a link to the instructions on CDR’s website: https://www.cdrnet.org/form-prior-approval. It includes a video tutorial among other things. Hopefully, that can get you started!
Yes, live events are promoted on Dietitian Hub – both in person and virtual events. Here is the link to our current virtual listings: https://dietitianhub.com/all-upcoming-virtual-activities/.
Thanks!
Best,
Sandy