Commercial Driver Medical Examiner Online Course 2025

Natalie P. Hartenbaum, MD, MPH, FACOEM
Course Director

Michael Berneking MD, FACOEM, FAAFP, FAASM
Assistant Faculty

Presented by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, this Commercial Driver Medical Examiner (CDME) Online Course meets the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s (FMCSA) requirements for initial training and complete re -training (10 year) for the National Registry of Certified Medical Examiners (NRCME), listed in the NRCME training Core Curriculum, noted below.

This course does not meet the Periodic Training (5-year) requirement, which is required 5 years after initial certification. The Periodic (5-year) Training is only offered through FMCSA with details found through your NRCME page.

This course assumes that participants have had sufficient medical training in taking medical histories, performing physical examinations, understanding differential diagnosis, treatment and medical management as well as being to perform an individualized risk assessment of sudden or gradual impairment or incapacitation on each driver. This course is not designed to teach basic medical skills, how to take a history , perform a medical examination, diagnosis a condition or understand treatment (with adverse effects), and prognosis. The focus is on what makes this type of evaluation different, it is essentially a risk assessment of each individual and their ability to safety operate a commercial motor vehicle (CMV) without risk of sudden or gradual impairment or incapacitation due to a medical condition/conditions or treatment thereof.

While the course focuses on the 2024 Medical Examiner Handbook (MEH), this course will also point out and/or provide, other resources the medical examiner may consider as part of their certification determinations.

There are 10 modules in this training program. Each module in the syllabus will include the course material, applicable forms, expert reports and other resources which examiner may want to consider.

NRCME Core Curriculum Specifications
(1) Background, rationale, mission and goals of the FMCSA medical examiner’s role in reducing crashes, injuries and fatalities involving commercial motor vehicles.
(2) Familiarization with the responsibilities and work environment of commercial motor vehicle (CMV) operations.
(3) Identification of the driver and obtaining, reviewing, and documenting driver medical history, including prescription and over-the-counter medications.
(4) Performing, reviewing and documenting the driver’s medical examination.
(5) Performing, obtaining and documenting diagnostic tests and obtaining additional testing or medical opinion from a medical specialist or treating physician.
(6) Informing and educating the driver about medications and non-disqualifying medical conditions that require remedial care.
(7) Determining driver certification outcome and period for which certification should be valid.
(8) FMCSA reporting and documentation requirements

Expected Time Allotment:
Reading Material: 10-13 hours
Recorded Video Modules: 8 hours

This bundle includes all the Commercial Driver Medical Examiner modules and the CME/MOC Component:

Module 1: Intro and Overview
Module 2: Vision and Hearing
Module 3: Cardiovascular and Hypertension
Module 4: Respiratory
Module 5: Rheumatic, Arthritic, Orthopedic, Neuromuscular and Vascular and Limb Loss or Impairment
Module 6: Epilepsy, Seizures or Loss of Consciousness
Module 7: Insulin-treated Diabetes Mellitus and Renal Disease
Module 8: Psychological
Module 9: Scheduled Drug Use and Alcoholism
Module 10: Form Completion and Miscellaneous
CDME CME/MOC Component
Evaluation and Certificate

Original Posting Date: 01/02/2025
Termination Date: 12/31/2028

As a provider accredited by the ACCME, ACOEM is responsible for ensuring our education is fair and balanced and that any clinical content presented supports safe, effective patient care. As such, ACOEM must include an original release date and a termination (expiration) date on products. Content must either be reviewed once every three years or expire after three years, which is why courses have an expiration date. This date not only denotes when the course will no longer be available to new users but also includes the final date to claim AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. While there is a possibility that a course will be renewed for an additional three years – and a new expiration date posted – this will not be determined until a review is conducted.

A course that has already been purchased but exceeds the expiration date can still be completed and/or reviewed, but a learner may no longer be able to claim the AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ associated with the course.

If you have questions, please contact educationinfo@acoem.org.

Complete CDME Module 0 through Module 10
Pass the 23-question post-test with a score of 80% or higher (3 attempts)
To claim CME credit, click the "Claim Your CME Credit" link, then click "Claim Credit."
To claim ABPM MOC credit, submit the MOC request form.

Natalie P. Hartenbaum, MD, MPH, FACOEM – Course Director and Faculty– President and Chief Medical Officer of OccuMedix, Inc, Dresher, Pennsylvania through which she serves as Medical Director/Advisor for multiple corporations of various size, also Adjunct Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and Medical Director of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia. She is editor of The DOT Medical Examination: A Guide to Commercial Driver Medical Certification; now in its seventh edition as well as Editor-in-Chief of Commercial Driver Medical Review (CDME) Update, a quarterly newsletter published by ACOEM on issues of commercial driver medical certification. Dr. Hartenbaum has lectured and written extensively on issues of fitness for duty with a concentration in the transportation industry. She has testified for the National Transportation Safety Board at hearings exploring commercial driver medical certification issues and has served on committees and Medical Expert Panels for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Dr. Hartenbaum has extensive experience in both the corporate and clinical setting and is board certified in both Internal Medicine and Occupational Medicine. She served 6 years on the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s Board of Directors, then as Secretary-Treasurer, Vice-President, President-Elect, and President (2010-2011) and is a past Director of the American Board of Preventive Medicine.

*Nothing to disclose

Michael W. Berneking, MD, FACOEM, FAAFP, FAASM - Dr. Berneking is currently the Medical Director for Bronson ProHealth. In that capacity he works with local, regional, and national representatives of some of the nation’s largest employers both providing medical care and consulting on a variety of occupational medicine, transportation, regulatory, and substance abuse testing topics. He has lectured at the national level about these same topics. Dr. Berneking has a special interest in sleep medicine particularly as it pertains to the transportation industry. He has worked with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine for over a decade advising and contributing to that organization to include developing position statements, legislative advocacy, and publications at a national level. Dr. Berneking has served in multiple leadership positions during his career including President of the Michigan Occupational and Environmental Medicine Association and Chair of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine’s Transportation and Safety Task Force. He is presently serving as a Director on the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine’s Board of Directors. Aviation medicine is another significant area of his practice, and is Senior Aviation Medical Examiner for the FAA. As Lieutenant Colonel Berneking in the U.S. Army, Dr. Berneking has the privilege to serve as a Flight Surgeon. He has contributed to the development of aviation medical standards for the Army. He has deployed several times and remains active in the military aviation community.

*Nothing to disclose

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine designates this enduring material for a maximum of 8.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits ™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The activity is available on-demand, and those who register will receive access automatically. Please be sure that this is the course you wish to purchase as refunds are not permitted after the transaction is complete. Once the purchase has been completed you will be granted access to the online/on-demand activity. If this purchase was made in error, do not access the course. Refund requests must be received in writing within 24 hours of the purchase to educationinfo@acoem.org. Refunds will be issued for duplicate purchases if no progress has been made in the course and will be issued minus an administrative fee of $100.00. Refunds will not be provided for courses that have been accessed and/or started.