Achieving desired results and improved outcomes: integrating planning and assessment throughout learning activities

Most physicians believe that to provide the best possible care to their patients, they must commit to continuous learning. For the most part, it appears the learning activities currently available to physicians do not provide opportunities for meaningful continuous learning. At the same time there have been increasing concerns about the quality of health care, and a variety of groups within organized medicine have proposed approaches to address issues of physician competence and performance. The authors question whether CME will be accepted as a full partner in these new approaches if providers continue to use current approaches to planning and assessing CME. A conceptual model is proposed for planning and assessing continuous learning for physicians that the authors believe will help CME planners address issues of physician competence, physician performance, and patient health status.