ASCP Approved Education Providers: Meet Certification and Recertification Requirements

The ASCP Board of Certification allows lab professionals to get continuing education credit from other authorities but they must be approved by ASCP.

Here is a list of some ASCP approved education providers:

• AGT—Association of Genetic Technologists
• AMT—American Medical Technologists
• AAPA—American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants
• AABB
• CAP—College of American Pathologists
• CMEA—Continuing Medical Education Association
• ASCT—American Society for Cytotechnology
• AAPA—American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants
• ASCLS PACE—American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science
• NSH—National Society for Histotechnology
• Other

The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Certification (BOC) determines continuing education courses for laboratory professional education.

The ASCP CE includes subscription programs, online courses, workshops, live events, etc.

These online CE courses not only meet the laboratory professional education requirements but also present CE credits for certification renewal.

Besides this, the board also suggests some ASCP approved education providers for professional continuing education that deliver education products with CEUs (continuing education units).

Why Choose the ASCP Approved Education Providers

The ASCP Board of Certification suggests many education providers that offer you the best resources for your career development.

You must choose these providers because:

Online Course

• All these ASCP approved education providers offer you the best online courses that meet your certification requirements.
• Offer review courses, interactive practice questions and answers, and much more for your certification preparation.

Live Webinar

• These CE providers establish live webinars that offer you the best knowledge about your field.

Meet your Recertification

• Offer you continuing education credits for your recertification
• From some authority, like the CAP website, you will get the CE credits for free.

Teleconference

• These providers offer you the opportunity to interact with other professionals via teleconference.
• Here, you can share your learning with others and get experience from other professionals.

Workshops

• Offer you the opportunity to solve problems with other lab professionals.
• Opportunity to learn skills with other professionals.

ASCP Accreditation

• The most trustworthy thing about these EC providers is that they have ASCP accreditation.

Other Opportunities

• Offer you a digital subscription to Pathology and Laboratory Medicine archives
• Access to social media groups  to interact with other peers
• Present many awards, like student awards, to meet education expenses
• Access to interactive pathology cases learning modules to test your knowledge and skills

How to Find ASCP Approved Education Providers?

To get access on ASCP approved education providers, you must follow the below instructions;

• Create an account on the ASCP website
• Here you will see the ASCP dashboard
• On the upper side of the page, you will see all ASCP activities, including “Membership,” “Learning,” “Advocacy and Outreach,” and “Board of Certification.”
• Click on the “Board of Certification.”
• Next, you have to click on “Stay Credentials.”
• Explore the section of “Stay Credentials,” and click on “Information about CMP.”
• Consider the part “How to manage points,” and click on “Suggested CE Providers.”
• Here you will see the list of ASCP approved education providers.

Top ASCP Education Providers

Here is the list of ASCP-approved education providers

• AACC “ACCENT”—American Association for Clinical Chemistry
• AGT—Association of Genetic Technologists
• ASCP CMLE—American Society for Clinical Pathology (CE Update, CheckSample, LabQ, Teleconferences, Workshops for Laboratory Professionals)
• AMA—American Medical Association
• AABB
• AAPA—American Association of Pathologists’ Assistants
• ASCLS PACE—American Society of Clinical Laboratory Science
• AMT—American Medical Technologists
• CAP—College of American Pathologists
• ASC—American Society of Cytopathology
• ASFA—American Society for Apheresis
• CACMLE—Colorado Association for Continuing Medical Laboratory Education
• ASH—American Society of Hematology
• ASM—American Society of Microbiology
• ASCT—American Society for Cytotechnology
• The American Red Cross
• CSMLS—Canadian Society for Medical Laboratory Science
• Florida Excell
• CLMA—Clinical Laboratory Management Association
• The Joint Commission
• NSH—National Society for Histotechnology
• CMEA—Continuing Medical Education Association

Which one is best?

All the education providers are the best and offer excellent services.

You only need to determine your requirements and match them with services.

These providers offer you many services for free, like you can get free ASCP CE credits.

ASCP CE Requirements and How to Fulfill Them

All the certifications that ASCP BOC determines for lab professionals are only valid for three years after getting them.

To update your certification, you have to participate in the CMP (Credential Maintenance Program).

The Credential Maintenance Program updates your certificate for the next three years.

However, the ASCP Board of Certification determines some requirements to take part in the ASCP renewal process that are necessary to meet.

These requirements are CMP points or continuing education credits that are specific to each certification.

For some certifications, you have to earn 9 CMP points and for most credentials, it is 36 points.

You have to get CE credits in the following category

• Area of specialization
• Medical ethic
• Patient safety and laboratory
• Lab operations, including education, management, etc.

For instance, if you have an MLS ASCP (Medical Laboratory Scientist) certificate, you have to earn 36 points to satisfy your CMP prerequisites.

• Area of specialty, including hematology, chemistry, blood banking, and microbiology: 2 points per subject
• Patient safety and lab: 1 point
• Lab-related operations like education, molecular diagnostics, immunology, etc: 26 points
• Medical ethics (sexual harassment, confidentiality, compliance, DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion), HIPAA, IRB, etc): 1 point

But if you have a certificate that needs 9 points, like PBT ASCP

• 2 points: area of mastery like phlebotomy
• 1 point: lab and petite safety
• 1 point: Medical ethics
• 5 points: lab-related work

How to Fulfill the ASCP CE Credits

You can get CMP points from ASCP and ASCP approved education providers.

CE Credits from ASCP

The American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) Board of Certification (BOC) offers you many online education courses that provide you with continuing education units for certification renewal.

These courses are

Case Report

• Cover major areas of anatomic and clinical pathology and offer you 2 CME/CMLE points per exercise.
• It is related to real-life case studies that are published every year.

ASCP Patent Safety

• It is a bundle of 8 modules on patient safety and delivers 1 CE credit per module.
• A few modules on ASCP patent safety provide you with credit for medical ethics.

ASCP LabQ

• It is packed with 18 real-life case studies and designed for lab technologists
• It presents 2 credits for lab and patient safety.

Inside the Lab Podcast

• This tool covers the latest topics in the field and offers your CE credit per episode
• It is free

Other Resource

• You can also get continuing education credits by serving the ASCP communities.
• ASCP annual meeting and other live events like webinars also meet your CMP requirement
• ASCP publications, if you write articles and journals for them, provide you with CEUs.
• ASCP also offers some programs, like “Patient Champion,” also present CE points.

Earn CE Credits from Non-ASCP Providers

The Board of Certification also allows you to earn CE credits from other sources like the CAP (College of American Pathologists) & ARUP (Associated Regional and University Pathologists) which provide free continuing education credits by getting their CE courses and attending live events, etc.

ASCP Success Stories: See How Professionals Prefer ASCP

“ASCP is recognized worldwide as the provider of the premier educational materials and resources for Pathologists and laboratory professionals to learn, share, and grow throughout the entirety of their careers.”

Henry Rinder, F, MD, ASCP says

” ASCP offers a variety of excellent online continuing education courses and activities to help me earn  my continuing medical education credits (CME) and meet my Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) and Continuing Certification (formerly MOC) requirements while staying on the forefront of the profession.”

Alexandre Harrington, MD, F ASCP, MLS ASCP, says

“As laboratory professionals, we must endeavor to be lifelong learners in order to maintain and expand our knowledge to stay current in our profession. The Credential Maintenance Program (CMP) challenges me to maintain and expand my knowledge across disciplines within the laboratory medicine field.”

Oliveira, MLS , M ASCP says

Final Verdict for ASCP Approved Education Providers

The ASCP Board of Certification has established many services to fulfill all its current and certified professional education, institutional, and certification requirements.

No matter,  Whether you want to earn the ASCP certification or are trying for recertification, you will encounter all the resources on the ASCP website.

The ASCP presents online education, annual meetings, live webinars, and many other programs that not only make you stand out in your field but also provide you with continuing education units to maintain your recertification cycle.

Besides this, the board highlights some ASCP approved education providers that can assist you in meeting your purposes for ASCP certification and recertification.

These providers deliver live seminars, online courses to improve your professional development and meet your Ascp CMP requirements.

FAQs for ASCP Approved Education Providers