March 3, 2025: View of 2025 from the Desk of the CEO

ACCME President & CEO, Dr. Graham McMahon, shares key insights on strategic growth, innovation, and the future of continuing medical education. Gain valuable perspectives on navigating change and strengthening our impact in the year ahead.

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00;00;01;14 - 00;00;28;25

William Shaw

Hello and welcome to Coffee with Graham. This is a podcast brought to you by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. I'm your host, William Shaw, joined by our president and CEO, Graham McMahon, discussing freshly brewed topics in the world of continuing medical education. In this episode, view of 2025 from the Desk of CEO, Graham shares insights gained from our annual data report and highlights report to help us navigate change.

00;00;28;27 - 00;00;38;01

William Shaw

To start our conversation off. Graham. I knew how this report documents ACCME’s progress at the halfway point of our strategic plan. How does this data define our growth thus far?

00;00;38;03 - 00;01;11;07

Graham McMahon

I think what the data tells us is that we are architects to some degree of our own success. I think in particular, the fact that we have a very permissive and open framework that allows educational planners to innovate. We don't have a review and approved approach to approving and accrediting educational activities. Instead, we have a trust and verify that really creates an open framework for creativity and evolution and responding to the very dynamic changes of our community.

00;01;11;10 - 00;01;37;22

Graham McMahon

The thirst for learning is still there. You can see that in the data. Our health professionals are learning at a pace and engaging with continuing education at a pace that we've never seen before. Record levels of continuing education consumption, which indicates that thirst and, thirst for learning that focus on mastery, that curiosity is ever present in our community.

00;01;37;24 - 00;02;00;06

Graham McMahon

But it also shows you that when the community of continuing education providers is allowed to and encouraged to, evolve and innovate, that the learners responds. You know, if you meet the learners needs, they'll be there. And I think the data report in particular tells you that story.

00;02;00;08 - 00;02;04;23

William Shaw

How do you see that innovation and growth happening in the context of 2025?

00;02;04;26 - 00;02;41;24

Graham McMahon

Just last month, when we had the celebration of Health Care Educational Professionals Day. And I think that those stories of celebration at, at providers in our system, big and small, across the country, told stories of value, untold stories of meaning. And for maybe the first time in a long time, a spotlight on our community and the contributions they make to providing safe, effective, compassionate, masterful care of people in their time of need.

00;02;41;26 - 00;03;09;15

Graham McMahon

And that is a testament to the value of our system, because we rely so heavily on our people, and to allow them the space and opportunity to tell their stories locally and nationally with social media, but more importantly, within their own community and specialty area, I think was very valuable. And those stories, I think were very telling and impactful.

00;03;09;17 - 00;03;35;22

Graham McMahon

We're coming from a position of strength right now in that you have this widespread consumption of education, a lot of engagement, a lot of value being applied to and appreciated by the continuing education community. And that's no small seem to be coming at this current ecosystem, from a position of comparative strength, especially because we had to navigate through Covid.

00;03;35;25 - 00;04;06;10

Graham McMahon

And you can see in all of our data how powerfully our community has navigated and had to navigate that remarkable disruptive change that occurred in our system over the last few years. It changed learning preferences. It changed the value, continued education. It changed its impact. A lot of things changed. But now we have kind of, more sudden, an abrupt and maybe unpredictable change, because the political tides have turned.

00;04;06;13 - 00;04;32;10

Graham McMahon

And for some people, those are very welcome and appreciated. And for some people they are not. And regardless of where individuals perceive that change, it is disruptive because it is change. And change is really challenging to navigate, particularly when it is unpredictable, when it is complex, when it is sometimes uncertain as to whether the change will occur.

00;04;32;10 - 00;05;09;00

Graham McMahon

That is the position we're in now of a volatile, uncertain, somewhat ambiguous and complex system to try and navigate. That is a very hard, if not impossible. And I think that's being perceived by a lot of people, not just in continuing education, but in the entire country and probably around the world, but have particular relevance to our, community is the impact it will have on the health care workforce and their availability to engage in continuing education and their willingness to engage in continuing education.

00;05;09;02 - 00;05;59;27

Graham McMahon

But I also think there are major implications for our entire industry is academic health care, for example, gets reduced funding allocations. Maybe that'll change their, commitments to professional development and, and education because it's easy to cut that or it's often an underappreciated and readily, disconnected, activity inside an organization. You may see, the pharma community that has to the tune of nearly $1 billion a year, provided grant support for continuing education and all of a sudden, there is uncertainty as to whether those things will persist or endure.

00;06;00;02 - 00;06;23;09

Graham McMahon

And I worry that that will create, cynicism, disengagement, disconnection and loss of trust. A feeling of uncertainty, all of which are disruptive to both learning and the ability to prognostication, strategize around educational activity creation and, and deployment.

00;06;23;11 - 00;06;30;14

William Shaw

Keeping that in mind, how would you bring that down to three specific challenges that our audience can directly understand?

00;06;30;16 - 00;07;05;05

Graham McMahon

I think probably the first thing is to know your core audience, because it's so essential to build that relationship and that trust is to know your audience. I think the second is to, he focused on your long-term value, a mission, because the current storms that are around the country and this ecosystem are ultimately going to be passing storms.

00;07;05;07 - 00;07;31;21

Graham McMahon

They, there eventually will be a dawn, there eventually will be some calm waters. And we have to focus on where we actually going and focus on that as the directions. Take the ship of your organization. I also think there has to be a willingness to evolve as like that third point. It's not just build those relationships and trust.

00;07;31;21 - 00;08;02;18

Graham McMahon

Know your learners, but it's got to be a willingness to evolve because what's worked before isn't necessarily working anymore. And a tendency in tumultuous environments is to go back to the routine. I think there's got to be, a recognition that the ecosystem environment is changing and has changed, and a willingness to innovate, but also to experiment and to be not so afraid to fail.

00;08;02;20 - 00;08;20;00

Graham McMahon

And whether that's using a new educational technology, a new way of approaching your learners, a new way of engaging them, targeting them. So focus on the mission. Know your learner. Don't be afraid to experiment. Innovate because otherwise, you'll be lost.

00;08;20;02 - 00;08;24;25

William Shaw

How do you suggest providers within our community also engage in this conversation?

00;08;24;27 - 00;09;03;20

Graham McMahon

Well, our people are our providers. I mean, these organizations we accredit 1500 or so organizations across the country and around the world, and those they produce, this which range of extremely diverse activities, some quarter million educational activities every year. It's simply extraordinary. And our providers are going to have to evolve and change in this way by experimenting, by innovating, because it is very clear that health professional learners are changing.

00;09;03;23 - 00;09;42;11

Graham McMahon

So not only are they feeling the stress of the disruption we were talking about, but they're also still have learning needs and they're curious and they want to do best by their patients in an environment that is more uncertain and ambiguous than before. And that's where learning can bring together the convening power of education to bring groups of people together, to learn that by itself is a healing, restorative force inside an organization to bring people together so that they can support each other is insulating for your own mental health, not just in the education community, but in the whole health care community.

00;09;42;14 - 00;10;01;26

Graham McMahon

So I would say a refocus on the primary value proposition of a provider, a focus on this long-term mission and value. And then going back to these ideas of don't just rest on your laurels. Don't just rest on the fact that here is a strong community and a strong industry.

00;10;01;28 - 00;10;18;04

William Shaw

So with that context in mind, if we were to ultimately use the medical lens of ACCME as like a patient, how would you describe the high risk and the low risk of the patient in regards to the ecosystem of ACCME and the providers and the creditors?

00;10;18;06 - 00;10;41;20

Graham McMahon

Yeah, it's interesting to try and bring my own medical diagnostic lens to, to our community. I would say low risk is, is the acute feeling of stress and disruption that all of us or many of us are kind of feeling. With the changes happening around us right now, I think that's probably low risk because that inevitably will have to pass.

00;10;41;22 - 00;11;07;04

Graham McMahon

I think the really high-risk issues are that health professionals in particular, they don't feel like they're operating in the system they can trust, and that person is just not going to practice very well, and they're going to put in the minimum amount of work they possibly can get away with because they feel disrespected. And that is very dangerous.

00;11;07;06 - 00;11;32;05

Graham McMahon

So I think the long-term health of our community will depend on whether there is a restoration of a vision for a future ecosystem that they feel like they can connect to us and has meaning for them and respects them and allows them to express their remarkable skills or not.

00;11;32;07 - 00;11;36;25

William Shaw

How does this domestic accreditation conversation fit within the international narrative?

00;11;37;01 - 00;12;10;19

Graham McMahon

Language is diverse around the world, but the principle of learning best practices in healthcare is almost borderless, and it doesn't really matter as much as you might think what the resource situation is in a place that's very different from the United States. The thirst for knowledge, that hunger for mastery, that desire to do your best as a health professional is ubiquitous in the scores of countries where I've been and talked to health professionals.

00;12;10;21 - 00;12;44;06

Graham McMahon

We're all motivated by the same things. We want to be impactful, professional, servers for the community that needs us in their time of, in their time of, of challenge. And as a result, the way in which, you know, American educational systems and accredited education writ large has been very successful in representing the value proposition of, our, our system all around the world.

00;12;44;09 - 00;13;17;14

Graham McMahon

And that has been widely well received by systems and organizations and individuals in 100, you know, over well over 120 countries. But that could change, and it can change in obvious ways. And then in much more dangerous but less obvious ways, the obvious ways it can change are people would say, I'm not so sure I align with, let's say, the political reality in North America right now or in the United States.

00;13;17;16 - 00;14;15;14

Graham McMahon

I will choose to get education from countries and systems that I have a stronger relationship with, or a value proposition with. I'll turn to educators in France or Australia or Canada, you name it, to get my education and my disease discipline of interest. So that's a pretty straightforward, potentially very problematic perspective change and global consumption of education or willingness to attend a meeting in the United States, for example, more dangerous and slippery and problematic is an attitude adjustments to, whether American medicine or health care is welcoming to people from other countries, respectful of professionals from other countries, for example, whether there is, a, an opening and a and an embrace of

00;14;15;17 - 00;14;46;09

Graham McMahon

diverse viewpoints from all around the world, that perspective change that perception change could be very damaging indeed. And remember, trust is very hard to gain and very easy to lose. If you've done this for 20 years and you've built up a strong system that is delivered a value proposition for a long time, that is so easy to lose.

00;14;46;11 - 00;14;53;21

William Shaw

Can you help our listeners understand what the best ways are to proactively build a prepared resilience as they move forward?

00;14;53;23 - 00;15;21;14

Graham McMahon

Well, I think a couple of things crossed my mind. I would still go back to what we talked about earlier of being mission focused and seeing the long-distance view of what you propose to offer. I would say a focus on relationships, a focus on trust. Those are enduring principles meeting the real needs of your learners and your community, not just your perceptions of what they might need.

00;15;21;16 - 00;15;57;23

Graham McMahon

And then delivering consistently and reliably into that community will build those relationships and isolate you from being categorized as other than, than part of their, their natural educational home. For example, on a broader principle, you really got to relook at your strategy and then focus on making sure your own house is taken care of. So take care of your own people, talk with them, understand them, help them be at their best.

00;15;57;26 - 00;16;23;12

Graham McMahon

And that type of focus on long term strategy, on meeting the real needs of your community and then supporting your own team. And I would say one of the principal that that has been hugely important for me and for Akani has been a willingness to collaborate, though collaborations are often very hard, much harder than you would think.

00;16;23;15 - 00;16;57;16

Graham McMahon

But we are beneficiaries of collaboration. They're worth it. And collaborations allow you to build strength by leveraging mutual capacity. And I think this is a time where open collaboration is quite apropos because many organizations share a mission that's focused on value generation and meaning and an impact, and the ways in which you do that could be quite constructive and interesting.

00;16;57;19 - 00;17;23;15

Graham McMahon

New perspectives are really valuable here, and it may maybe perspectives you've never had before. Maybe for the first time you bring in a patient panel, maybe for the first time you work with, charitable organization or nonprofit in your community that's in your disease area or something else. Maybe you work with a local supermarket to understand food delivery and the importance of nutrition or health in your community.

00;17;23;18 - 00;17;48;15

Graham McMahon

There's all sorts of ways you can create very valuable and useful collaborations. But if you don't try, you won't benefit. And there is always this tendency at times of uncertainty to close ranks and look inside rather than actually taking the opportunity to say, everyone's feeling uncertain, let's reach a hand across to another organization, see how we can grow together.

00;17;48;17 - 00;18;05;01

William Shaw

It seems the best way we consider ourselves and be anchored as an industry is basically just coming together, understanding where our strategies are and then ultimately realizing, like you said, that this too will pass, but what resources can we give that will also help our listeners?

00;18;05;03 - 00;18;34;16

Graham McMahon

Well, the first thing is, is actually look at your own people and your own team. We have this survey going out, as you know, and in the coming days, or will have been out by the time we published this podcast, about the workforce, whose data will be very helpful to us in understanding our people and, the appeal is to please complete it because we can't represent and understand our community unless we can know about our community.

00;18;34;23 - 00;19;02;15

Graham McMahon

And the only way we're going to know about our community is you telling us. So please respond to that survey so we can understand and support our community the best way possible. So the first thing is, your resources are yourselves and your team and your people around you. I think the second resource is actually your learner community, because they will help you be successful, because they'll tell you what they need.

00;19;02;18 - 00;19;27;29

Graham McMahon

They'll act in ways that is responsive to you meeting their needs. It's very clear if you meet your learner's needs, they'll be there and they will work with you, and you will have your impacts through them because of your ability to reach them. So look at your own team. Certainly leverage your learner community but then know that ACCME is here in your corner.

00;19;28;06 - 00;20;01;23

Graham McMahon

We are engaged with our community of on the Hill. We are engaged with other organizations. We are engaged in all sorts of conversations with all of the organizations that are affected by these, changes. And we're trying to be attentive to and always standing up for educational value and the importance of professional development in the health care landscape, not just for physicians, but for the entire health care team.

00;20;01;25 - 00;20;27;18

Graham McMahon

Of course, we have a variety of very specific resources on our website. A lot of strategies on how to how to be innovative and creative. A lot of permission in, in our rules and standards about how to leverage the other criteria, how to use our commendation framework to fix a view on the future about how you can grow and meet your mission.

00;20;27;20 - 00;21;00;05

Graham McMahon

The commendation criteria are very specifically designed to support the evolution of best practices in professional development and continuing education. But also know that our people at ACCME are here for you and with you. And if we can be of help, if you can, talk to your local CEO, if we can talk to, one of your state licensing boards, if there's something we can do to help you do your work, just ask.

00;21;00;08 - 00;21;41;29

Graham McMahon

You know that that info@ACCME.org is always open. This is something we can help you with. You can ask, and if we can do it, we will certainly try to but fundamentally know that we're not planning on going anywhere. You can have trust that ACCME is doing its due diligence to meet the needs of the community, and continuing to continuously evolve as well, and try and understand how we can best both protect and support this fantastic community around us, because the success and the strength of our provider community is our strength.

00;21;42;01 - 00;22;13;26

Graham McMahon

And certainly we have a job to do. We have standards to implement, we have accountability to enforce, and we do those things with rigor and seriousness. And, and big world beneficiaries of that. But fundamentally, we care deeply about our community and the work that we do together. And that's what we will continue to ensure that we are fighting for and standing up for and defending and supporting, because that's where we deliver value to the world.

00;22;13;28 - 00;22;20;28

William Shaw

And this, again, has been Coffee with Graham. Please come back for some more freshly roasted information. Have a good day and goodbye.