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A continuing education programme for general practitioners. Status report after 5 years of function.
H W Wiskott1, S Borgis, M Simoness
1FORMACO, University of Geneva, School of Dental Medicine, 19, rue Barthélemy-Menn, 1205 Geneva, Switzerland. anselm@Wiskott.com
Summary
The University of Geneva established a continuing dental education program in 1994. While dentist attendance was high, the program
Area of Science:
- Dental Education
- Continuing Professional Development
Background:
- University of Geneva's School of Dental Medicine aimed to fulfill its continuing education mandate.
- New university regulations prompted the establishment of a structured program for practicing dentists.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the effectiveness and impact of a newly established continuing dental education program.
- To evaluate dentist participation and satisfaction with the program's offerings.
Main Methods:
- Implementation of a structured continuing education program with diverse course formats (conference, hands-on, clinical, seminar).
- Utilized computer software for efficient administration, registration, and communication.
- Collected and analyzed data on dentist attendance and course evaluations.
Main Results:
- Dentist attendance for the continuing education courses was highly satisfactory.
- Despite high attendance, the program met only 20% of the required course hours mandated by the Swiss dental association.
- Course and overall program evaluations were satisfactory.
Conclusions:
- The program successfully engaged practicing dentists but had a limited impact on fulfilling mandated continuing education hours.
- Further strategies may be needed to increase the program's contribution to the required professional development for dentists.