Does formal approval of educational courses guarantee quality?

To assess whether organizers of continuing medical education for general practitioners used principles of adult learning when designing their meetings.

A questionnaire study of organizers of approved educational meetings for general medical practitioners (GPs).

South East Scotland.

Organizers of educational meetings.

Organizers often failed to use principles of adult learning in the construction of their meetings. Organizers with prior training in medical education were, however, significantly more likely to adopt these principles.

Given concern about the quality of educational meetings as assessed by their educational impact, formal approval is not an indicator of quality. Postgraduate bodies should use explicit criteria both in the development and approval of continuing educational meetings.