Continuing Medical Education (CME)

Comprehensive Colposcopy

Is this educational activity right for me?

This evidence-based course is designed for the beginning/intermediate colposcopist. It will also benefit clinicians needing updated information about the newly published Updated Cervical Cancer Screening Guidelines, the Updated National Consensus Guidelines for Management of Women with Abnormal Cervical Cancer Screening Tests and Cancer Precursors, and new concepts about HPV screening and triage, treatment methods, and HPV epidemiology. This course is designed to improve competencies in medical knowledge, practice-based learning, patient outcomes, and/or systems-based practice. The participant should be a licensed physician or advanced practice clinician with an advanced clinical degree from an accredited institution and who makes gynecologic diagnosis and management decisions.

Educational Objectives

Upon completion of this educational activity, participants should be able to:

• Describe the anatomy, cytology, histology, and colposcopic findings of the normal and abnormal cervix, vagina, and vulva (medical knowledge).
  
  

• Elicit and document an appropriate history including risk factors for lower genital tract neoplasia (medical knowledge, practice-based learning).

• Define the pathophysiology of lower genital tract neoplasia, including the role of oncogenic HPV in preinvasive and invasive diseases of the cervix, vagina, and vulva (medical knowledge).

• Define the Bethesda System of cervicovaginal terminology (medical knowledge).

• Apply new standards for cervical cancer screening, including HPV testing (systems-based practice).

• Describe the prevention of cervical neoplasia and genital warts using prophylactic HPV vaccines (medical knowledge).

• Discuss the challenges of colposcopy and management of cervical neoplasia for selected patient populations such as adolescents, women infected with HIV, underserved women, and pregnant women (medical knowledge, practice-based learning, patient outcomes).

• Perform appropriate cytologic sampling, colposcopic evaluation, and biopsies (including endocervical sampling), and become familiar with instrumentation and necessary supplies (practice-based learning).

• Recognize the diagnostic characteristics of cervical abnormalities (low-grade and high-grade cervical lesions as well as adenocarcinoma in-situ and cervical cancer) on cytologic, colposcopic, and histologic exam (practice-based learning).

• Interpret and correlate cytologic, colposcopic, and histologic results (practice-based learning).

• Formulate a plan of care for the management of women with Pap test abnormalities according to the most recent ASCCP Consensus Guidelines, the ASCUS/LSIL Triage Study (ALTS), and other evidence-based guidelines (practice-based learning, systems-based practice, patient outcomes).

• Describe, but not perform, treatment options to include cryosurgery and electrosurgical loop excision procedure (LEEP) of the cervix (practice-based learning).

• Summarize and explain the diagnosis and management of vulvar and vaginal neoplasia (medical knowledge, practice-based learning).

• Provide appropriate patient education and support (medical knowledge, interpersonal and communication skills).

Continuing Medical Education (CME) 

ACCME Accreditation Statement
The ASCCP is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. 

Credit Designation Statement 
The ASCCP designates this enduring activity for a maximum of 21 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. 

Disclosure Information 

The faculty, committee members, and staff who are in position to control the content of this activity are required to disclose to ASCCP any financial relationship(s) that have occurred within the prior 24 months with any ineligible companies. Financial relationships are defined as remuneration in any amount from ineligible companies in the form of grants, research support, consulting fees, salary, ownership interest (eg, stocks, stock options, or ownership interest excluding diversified mutual funds), honoraria or other payments for participation in speakers’ bureaus, advisory boards, or boards of directors, or other financial benefits. The intent of this disclosure is not to prevent individuals with financial relationships from planning or delivering content, but rather to provide learners with information that allows them to make their own judgments of whether these financial relationships may have influenced the educational activity with regard to exposition or conclusion. ASCCP has reviewed all disclosures and mitigated all relevant financial relationships that have been identified.

The following person(s) disclosed financial relationships:

• N/A

The following person(s) disclosed no financial relationships:

• Christine Conageski, MD – Content Reviewer
• Simone Cox, BSN, MSN, NP, RN, WHNP - Faculty
• Laura Fry, MD - Faculty
• Melissa Gee, MD - Faculty
• E.J. Mayeaux, Jr, MD – Content Reviewer
• Susan Park, MD, MPH - Faculty
• Alan G. Waxman, MD, MPH - Faculty, Content Reviewer
• Diane Catalano - Staff
• Kerry Curtis - Staff
• Kelly O'Boyle - Staff
• Robert Pulley - Staff
• Joseph Pymm - Staff
• Nicole Ratner - Staff
• Liesl Robinson - Staff