General practitioners' continuing medical education: a prospective study from the County of Aarhus

Participation of Danish general practitioners (GPs) in continuing medical education (CME) has often been the subject of debate, although very little is known about the extent and content of activities. One-hundred-and-sixty-one Danish GPs participated in this one-year prospective study by collecting data on their own CME activities. We received 9980 data registration charts. During an average period of 8.4 months, the average Danish GP spent 67 h on traditional CME, equivalent to approximately 96 h per year, and 12 h on small group-based CME per year. In addition, he/she spent 90 h per year reading textbooks, journals, etc. The time spent on CME therefore totalled more than 200 h per year. Most of the CME courses took place outside surgery hours. We conclude that Danish GPs participate in a large number of CME activities--even more than their own organisation recommend.