Background and Purpose of NANCEAC

The Background: Other health care professions (medical, chiropractic, nursing, pharmacy, etc.) have a single national organization (ACCME, CCCEP, PACE, ANCC, ACPE, etc.) whose purpose is to accredit continuing education (CE) providers. To date, the naturopathic profession has not had any organization to provide this accreditation service. Currently in the naturopathic profession, the burden of approving CE activities falls on the regulatory authorities (licensing and registration boards).

The Purpose: The Federation of Naturopathic Medicine Regulatory Authorities (FNMRA) created the North American Naturopathic Continuing Education Accreditation Council (NANCEAC) in response to requests from regulatory authorities. NANCEAC was developed to ensure that CE providers deliver high-quality naturopathic CE activities that are free from commercial bias. With this accreditation, regulatory authorities can trust that a CE provider will offer meaningful naturopathic continuing education.

The Development and Operations Team: NANCEAC was developed by licensed naturopathic physicians with the input and help from state and provincial naturopathic regulators. NANCEAC applications will be reviewed by three licensed/registered naturopathic physicians. The Board of Directors of FNMRA (current and past ND regulators) will make the final decision.

NANCEAC Reviewers: All the individuals who will be reviewing NANCEAC applications have graduated from CNME-approved programs, and they are licensed/registered naturopathic physicians in the United States or Canada. The reviewers were chosen based on their experience in developing and evaluating continuing education activities. NANCEAC will be keeping the names of the reviewers confidential in order to protect their anonymity and keep the accreditation process non-biased.

Where is NANCEAC Accreditation Accepted?

NANCEAC-accredited CE activities are automatically accepted in the following jurisdictions:

• US: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Utah, Vermont, Washington

• Canada: Alberta, British Columbia (category C)

NANCEAC-accredited CE activities meet or exceed CE requirements in the following jurisdictions, but may need further approval:

• US: Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, New Hampshire, Rhode Island

• Canada: British Columbia (category F and G), Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan

How Does NANCEAC Make Accreditation Decisions?

NANCEAC accreditation decisions are made four times a year through a rigorous, multistep process. Once the application package is deemed complete, it undergoes a peer-review process with the Naturopathic Review Committee (NRC), followed by a final review and accreditation decision by the FNMRA Board of Directors (BOD).

NANCEAC uses an industry-accepted criterion-based evaluation system to ensure that fairness, consistency, and accuracy are applied equally to all applications. This application process was developed to ensure fair and accurate accreditation decisions. As well, members of the NRC and BOD must disclose conflicts of interest (real or perceived), provide statements of financial disclosure, and recuse themselves from considering an application if appropriate.

The FNMRA/NANCEAC staff provide support and guidance to all relevant parties throughout the application process.