Deciding what physicians need to know

Jeffrey P. Callen, MD, chief of the Division of Dermatology at the University of Louisville School of Medicine, has been elected to serve on the Accreditation Review Committee (ARC) of the Accreditation Council of Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). His two-year term begins Dec. 1, 2016.

The ACCME is a nonprofit organization based in Chicago that is responsible for accrediting institutions throughout the United States that offer continuing medical education (CME). Accreditation decisions are determined through a review by two ACCME committees: first, the Accreditation Review Committee, and second, the Decision Committee of the Board of Directors. All accreditation decisions are then ratified by the ACCME’s Board of Directors.

All physicians are required to earn CME credit in order to maintain their license to practice. In Kentucky, all physicians who maintain an active Kentucky medical or osteopathic license are required to complete 60 hours of CME every three years.

A Chicago native, Callen earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin before earning his medical degree from the University of Michigan, where he also performed residencies in internal medicine and dermatology.

In 1977, Callen joined the faculty at the University of Louisville, attaining the rank of professor in 1988 and being appointed as chief of the Division of Dermatology the same year. He served on various boards, including for the American Academy of Dermatology and the Association of Professors of Dermatology Inc. In 2009, Callen received the Thomas Pearson, Ph.D. Education Award from the American Academy of Dermatology. This September he will assume the Presidency of the Association of Professors of Dermatology.

Callen is the author or co-author of 84 original articles, 181 case reports, 149 review articles, 50 editorials, 15 books, 276 book chapters and 165 abstracts. He is currently the Associate editor of JAMA Dermatology. His book, Dermatologic Signs of Systemic Disease, now in its fifth edition, was just published.