General dental practitioners' needs for continuing education on the management of fissure caries

A process of identifying GDPs' perceptions of their needs for continuing education on one topic area is described. The method employed a combination of two traditional approaches for assessing educational needs, the so-called 'wisemen' approach and interviews with members of the target audience. The process identified three groups of GDPs with differing educational needs. Their perceptions of their educational needs are described, and the advantages and disadvantages of the process discussed and compared with other methods of assessing educational needs. The study confirmed the importance of identifying educational needs in the development of an educational programme.