Communicating Up-to-Date Knowledge

In the American Academy of HIV Medicine's mission to advance excellence in HIV care, great consideration and effort have been put into developing educational tools that clinics in order practice need to understand quality HIV medical care, and a credentialing process to help HIV care providers demonstrate that they maintain up-to-date knowledge. The Academy encourages all HIV medical providers to consider using the HIV Medicine Self-Directed Study Guide and the AAHIVM HIV Specialist^TM credential to help ensure better care for those living with HIV/AIDS and HIV disease and to help support all health care providers in HIV medicine.

Encourage Up-to-Date Knowledge: Use the HIV Medicine Self-Directed Study Guide as a Training Tool

The Academy has developed the HIV Medicine Self-Directed Study Guide to offer HIV care providers a centralized educational resource containing the core knowledge needed to qualify as an HIV specialist. Although many excellent medical texts on HIV are currently available, few offer comprehensive information on all of the diverse aspects involved in providing excellent HIV health care -- from prevention, to the biology and pathophysiology of the virus itself, to legal and ethical issues. It is the Academy's intention that providing a single, comprehensive and annually updated educational resource will help advance excellence in HIV care.

Throughout the evolution of the Study Guide, great care has been taken to achieve a document that is streamlined and comprehensive and can be updated annually. Each year, revisions will be published so that medical care providers using this educational tool can remain up-to-date in this fast-moving field.

We plan to update the two volume set every other year, beginning with the initial publication in 2003. In the intervening even-numbered years (2004, 2006 and beyond), the single volume HIV Medicine Self-Directed Study Guide will cover all of the Recent Learning Objectives of that year's AAHIVM Core Curriculum. In addition, new information will be made available throughout the year at the Academy Web site (www.aahivm.org) as advances in HIV medicine occur.

All of these features make the Study Guide an effective training tool in a broad range of educational settings. It is not only an indispensable tool for self-study, but also has proven to be useful in group educational settings such as private practices, clinics, medical and nursing schools, and both ID and HIV fellowships helping their members, staff, student and trainees keep up-to-date with recent changes in HIV medicine. In fact, many hospitals and training programs across the country already use the Study Guide as part of their core curricula.

Comments and feedback from a recent Academy membership survey showed that members using the Study Guide in their local curricula are pleased with the format, clarity and conciseness of the information and with the positive responses from their medical students, house staff and colleagues. The survey also shows that the Study Guide is helpful to members for treatment purposes, social services issues, counseling, and as a review of basic knowledge and newer trends in HIV medicine.

The Academy would like to hear more about how the Study Guide can help you advance excellence in HIV care. If you currently use or are considering using the Study Guide as a training tool, please let us know by e-mailing us at info@aahivm.org.

Show Others You Maintain Up-to-Date Knowledge: Use the AAHIVM HIV Specialist Word Mark and Logo

It's important to let your colleagues and patients know that you are credentialed as an AAHIVM HIV Specialist^TM. By displaying your credentials, you help to support and acknowledge the development and maintenance of quality standards in HIV medicine. A credential from the Academy on your wall and the Academy logo and word mark on your business and patient materials will communicate to patients and health plans that you have gone the extra step to maintain up-to-date HIV treatment knowledge. It provides verification of your defined professional knowledge by an objective, external source and demonstrates your commitment to maintaining continuing competency through relevant ongoing self-assessment. A credential also demonstrates support for the development of appropriate national standards in HIV care.

The AAHIVM HIV Specialist^TM credential promotes professional accountability and visibility for quality care in HIV medicine. Credentialing may also give you a competitive edge when applying for a new position. In addition, medical clinics and health plans (payers) are beginning to require, suggest or consider Academy credentialing for primary HIV health care providers.

Credentialing also benefits HIV specialists as a whole by reinforcing the importance of such specialists to third-party payers and other health care stakeholders. It helps establish and maintain a uniform, voluntary national standard concerning HIV practitioner knowledge. In addition, credentialing strengthens the voices of frontline providers in advocating HIV issues and working with health care organizations, the public and governmental bodies.

Back to The Nexus Spring 2004 contents page.