Application of the continuing education systems project. CME as organization development

Temple University's Office of Continuing Medical Education and 18 affiliated institutions implemented the Continuing Education Systems Project (CESP), in order to improve the quality of CME. As a result of the findings, it is proposed that the CME unit be accepted and supported not merely as an adjunct educational service for physicians but as an agent of the hospital's organizational development. Accordingly, the role of the CME unit is one of facilitator of change, functioning as a system feedback mechanism and coordinator of planned change. It is suggested that community hospitals need to develop a CME unit capable of integrating the resources of the institution in order to meet organizational, as well as individual and social needs. This is of particular importance in the face of new federal interventions in the health care field, which create the potential for conflicts between the physician and the hospital.