We established the Certified Clinical Data Manager (CCDM®) program to help clinical data managers to institute a standard of knowledge, education and experience by which they would be officially recognized by the profession.
The CCDM® program has been designed to identify credible, trained, qualified and committed professionals in Clinical Data Management (CDM) and provides real-time feedback for organizations seeking to hire the best and the brightest in their field.
APPLICANTS FOR THE CERTIFIED CLINICAL DATA MANAGER PROGRAM MUST MEET ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA
The Society for Clinical Data Management established the certification program for clinical data managers to institute a standard of knowledge, education, and experience by which they would be professionally recognized by the medicinal, biological development, medical device therapies, and clinical research community at large. Through a rigorous eligibility assessment and examination process, certified clinical data management professionals are able to demonstrate a high level of competence and expertise in their field.
SCDM certification program was designed to meet the following goals:
The CCDM® exam, originally released in September 2005 and subsequently revised in 2008, 2010 and in 2019 contains 130 multiple choice questions. Candidates are allotted 3.5 hours to complete the exam. All examinations are administered in English.
The exam and all test-related materials (i) are and will remain at all times the property of SCDM; (ii) are confidential; and (iii) are not available for review by any person or governmental agency, unless requested by a valid legal request (e.g., subpoena or court order).
Recognizing the important economic disparities in the global economy, the cost to sit for SCDM CCDM® exam is priced based on the three income levels as defined by the World Bank Classification.
| MEMBERS | NON MEMBERS | |
|---|---|---|
| Exam | $250 | $325 |
| Retake Exam | $225 | $300 |
| Renew CEUs | $95 | $150 |
| MEMBERS | NON MEMBERS | |
|---|---|---|
| Exam | $200 | $250 |
| Retake Exam | $175 | $225 |
| Renew CEUs | $80 | $95 |
| MEMBERS | NON MEMBERS | |
|---|---|---|
| Exam | $125 | $200 |
| Retake Exam | $100 | $175 |
| Renew CEUs | $60 | $90 |
Once an application has been processed, approximately 14 working days after it is received by SCDM, the applicant will receive an e-mail of acceptance/denial. The e-mail of acceptance will include instructions on how to access the platform and schedule your exam date.
The accepted applicant will have 90 days from the date of the acceptance e-mail to take the exam. It is recommended that an accepted applicant schedule an exam immediately upon receipt of the acceptance e-mail to secure an exam date within the eligibility period. Except as set forth in this Handbook, the eligibility period will not be extended. The eligibility ID is not transferable.
Applicants must meet at least one of the eligibility requirements listed below, if an applicant does not meet the requirements, the application will be denied and the applicant will be refunded their application fee and $25 of administration costs will be charged on this refund.
APPLICANTS FOR THE CERTIFIED CLINICAL DATA MANAGER (CCDM®) PROGRAM MUST MEET ONE OF THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA
Scheduling the exam is done directly from Prolydian account. Log into the system and then go to the “Your exams” area. Click the Schedule button and follow the steps. Click on the video below to learn how to schedule your exam.
Failure to Take Exam on Scheduled date, candidates can reschedule up to 24 hours before their scheduled appointment time via their Prolydian account.
There is 3.5 hours allocated to take the test. During the exam, unscheduled breaks are permitted, but the clock will not stop during those breaks.
The exam will be proctored live by our partner Prolydian, the CCDM® exam platform provider in partnership with Examity the online proctoring company.
Good Clinical Data Management Practices (GCDMP) is a foundational resource that will also help with exam preparation and is available here.
Furthermore, SCDM offers a webinar series on topics related to the exam as well as for professional development, and SCDM Annual Conference sessions are also a valuable source of information.
Prior to beginning your exam you must complete your Examity profile setup, including the upload of a government issued Photo ID. You MUST complete the profile setup and computer requirements check prior to beginning your exam. Follow the steps below to complete your profile setup:
If you experience any issues that require technical assistance, please contact Prolydian support at [email protected] All other inquiries should be directed to SCDM at [email protected].
We encourage you to review these helpful resources to ensure a successful testing experience:
All exams are subject to live remote proctoring and exam results become available after proctoring review, this process takes 2 weeks. Any exams flagged for review will require manual adjudication to confirm the test results. Common reasons for manual adjudication include poor quality provision of photo ID, poor compliance with remote setup instructions (e.g. scan of room), and prohibited behavior . In these instances, results may take longer than standard time as the applicant can only receive their result once the review is complete.
After the examination, candidates will receive an e-mail indicating the results. Upon passing, a CCDM® certificate will be sent via postal mail service. A CCDM certified individual may refer to the CCDM certification as long as their certification is active. A CCDM certified individual may use the CCDM designation in block letters after his or her name on business cards, personal letterhead, resumes, websites, and in the person’s email signature. The CCDM designation may be used only in accordance with the Terms and Conditions of use in Section 4 of the SCDM Policy & Procedure Manual.
The SCDM maintains an online list of CCDM certification holders. A certification holder may opt out of inclusion in the registry by contacting [email protected]
Those who successfully complete the examination are asked to complete and return a survey, the results of which will be incorporated into SCDM publications.
The applicant may retake the exam one time for a reduced fee within one calendar year date of the formal notification e-mail date of the exam results. After expiration of that period , a full application must be submitted, and the full fee paid. Please refer to fee schedule and the retake application form on https://scdm.org/get-certified/
The SCDM reserves the right to undertake routine reviews of all test results, including through the use of third-party forensic analysis. In the event this review raises concerns regarding the validity of any test source, the SCDM has the right to reject the test results and to provide the candidate the opportunity to retake the exam, free of charge. In such an event, the candidate may not use the CCDM credential until a passing grade on a subsequent exam is obtained.
Certification is valid for a three year period from the date of original certification. SCDM Certified Clinical Data Management professionals (CCDMs) may renew their certification upon submission of a completed and valid renewal application. By renewing, CCDMs demonstrate their willingness to continue to advance within the field and commitment to continued growth in both knowledge and competency in clinical data management.
The CCDM® renewal application must be submitted along with the following additional documentation for applications including Continuing Education Units (CEUs) earned from non SCDM educational opportunities:
To renew certification, candidates must acquire a minimum of 1.8 CEUs within three years of the date of the candidates CCDM Certificate. This time frame begins from the date of most recent certification
Obtaining CEUs through Educational Training and Conferences
SCDM requires that at least 60% of CEUs come from clinical data management (CDM) specific training.
SCDM allows up to 40% of CEUs to come from non-CDM specific training such as SCDM volunteer activities. SCDM recommends that CEU applicants consider the CCDM® Core Competencies when choosing any non-CDM specific training. For further explanation, view the CEU & Percentage Credit Breakdown Chart (Appendix 7).
SCDM will accept CEU certificates for training completed within organizations that offer IACET CEUs. CEU certificates must be provided for each training course completed. These may be submitted on an ongoing basis prior to renewal in order to establish their applicability for renewal purposes. Certificates for CEUs from public/nonprofit organizations (SoCRA, DIA, ACRP, Universities) as well as private organizations (Barnett, EDC and Beyond, etc.), will be considered equally; however, internal company specific training is not acceptable for purposes of CCDM renewal.
CEU certificates for training offered by organizations that do NOT offer IACET CEUs are accepted only when the applicant has submitted the Non-IACET CEU Affidavit Form to SCDM Administrative Office the training is approved by SCDM, in its sole discretion. It is recommended to confirm with SCDM by contacting us @ [email protected]) whether such training will be accepted as part of a CCDM renewal application prior to submitting said application.
* CEU Certificates must include the following:
Tracking of CEUs:
SCDM Members and Non-Members can track their CEUs Via their profiles on SCDM Community platform.
