Are you a physician, NP, or PA wondering what a fair CME allowance is in 2024? Unfortunately, CME allowances are not the same from organization to organization, so this is a common question that comes up often.
Some clinicians receive a high CME allowance, giving them a lot of freedom when choosing what CME package works best for them and their schedule. Others receive as little as $100 or nothing at all, making it very difficult to find the perfect CME.
No matter your CME budget, CMEList offers CME packages that can accommodate almost any budget, including free CME.
Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives
Merritt Hawkins released their 2022 Review of Physician and Advanced Practitioner Recruiting Incentives report, showcasing data collected during the 12-month period from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022.
For the purpose of this post, we will only cover the CME allowance portion, but if you’re interested in reading about starting salaries and different signing bonuses, we encourage you to check out the official report here.
According to this report, 92% of physicians, NPs, and PAs received some sort of CME allowance for 2021-2022.
CME Allowances for Physicians
For 2020-2021, physicians received an average of $3,691 as their CME allowance, which is virtually the same as last year ($3,695).
The lowest reported CME allowance was $1,000, while the highest was $35,000. If you’re a physician who happens to far exceed the average, we recommend looking at traveling CME conferences where you can spend more of your allowance.
CME Allowance for Nurse Practitioners and Physician Assistants
NPs and PAs received a lower average CME allowance for 2021-2022 compared to last year. The average was $2,537 while the previous year was $2,956. We recommend the BoardVitals Pharmacology CE Pro Plus Bundle (with gift card up to $3,000) or NursingCE Advanced Pharamacology CE Package for APRNs to quickly meet your CE requirements.
What to Spend Your CME Allowance On?
If you received a CME stipend this year, there are a number of options to spend your allowance on, available on CMEList.
CME with Bonus Gift Card
CME with Gift Card special offers are available from providers such as Audio-Digest, Oakstone, and MDCalc. CME packages with gift cards are popular option amongst physicians because not only do they provide quality CME to meet their requirements but you also receive an additional bonus like an Amazon or Visa gift card to use for your studies.
CME Conferences
CME Conferences are a great option, especially if you’re tired of doing all of your CME staring at a computer screen and want to travel and network with peers.
What if I don’t have a CME allowance?
If you don’t have a CME allowance, there are plenty of affordable or free CME available on CMEList.
Free CME
Providers like Scientia offer quick CME articles that are informative and offer quick CME credits.
Affordable CME
If you want to spend a reasonable amount of money on CME, there are many options out there. Check out our recommendations below:
Meetings-by-Mail: Practical Mastery of Musculoskeletal Imaging ($645)