Tell a physician in most states that they owe zero general CME hours and they will assume you are wrong. In New York, you would be right — and also incomplete, because the absence of an hour total is replaced by specific mandated courses that catch people precisely because there is no big number reminding them to pay attention.
No general total, three required courses
New York does not impose a general CME hour requirement for physicians. Instead it mandates:
- Identification and reporting of child abuse — 2 credits, one-time. Required for licensure. Part of the quiet but common child-abuse reporting mandate.
- Infection control and barrier precautions — every four years. A recurring training requirement on its own four-year clock.
- Pain management, palliative care, and addiction — at least 3 hours every three years, for licensees authorized to prescribe controlled substances.
Why "no total" is a trap, not a relief
A 50-hour requirement is annoying but self-announcing — you cannot forget a number that large. Three small mandated courses on three different clocks are easy to overlook precisely because nothing nags you. The child-abuse course is one-time and tied to licensure. Infection control recurs every four years. Pain management recurs every three years for prescribers. None of these line up with each other or with a renewal date. It is the clearest example of why your CME deadline and license expiration are not the same thing.
The four-year infection control clock
The infection-control requirement deserves its own attention because four years is long enough to forget between occurrences. It gets a full treatment in New York's four-year infection-control rule. Mark it on a calendar the day you complete it so the next one does not sneak up.
Prescribers have an extra layer
If you prescribe controlled substances, the 3-hour pain/palliative/addiction requirement every three years applies to you specifically — part of opioid and controlled-substance CME by state. And separately, DEA registrants face the one-time federal MATE 8-hour training, which is a federal requirement, not a New York one. Two different obligations, two different authorities.
The triennial registration backdrop
New York runs three-year registration periods, which makes planning around these off-cycle courses even trickier — covered in why New York's three-year cycle makes planning harder. The same long-cycle, mandated-course pattern shows up for New York pharmacists and connects to the broader question of why CME requirements vary so much by state.
The simple way to stay compliant
Treat each mandated course as its own line item with its own next-due date: child abuse (one-time, done), infection control (four years), pain management (three years, prescribers). Keep the certificates — see the records to keep. Verify current rules with NYSED's Office of the Professions physician page.
Tracking three uncoordinated clocks with no hour total to anchor them is genuinely harder than meeting a single number, which is why a written plan helps here more than in most states. White Glove CME maps each mandated course's next due date against your registration period for a flat $99 per license renewal — planning only, no credit granted, no NYSED login. See pricing or tell us your details. Start at our New York physician page or the New York overview.
Need help figuring out your CME?
Stop guessing what CME you need. Tell us your license type, state, and renewal date, and we'll map exactly which continuing-education hours and mandated topics you need — and by when. Flat $99 per plan.