Continuing medical education for flexible sigmoidoscopy--toward a conceptual model for procedural skills training

Participants in two one-day continuing medical education courses on flexible sigmoidoscopy were surveyed before, immediately after and ten months after the courses. 52 (29.5% of 176) participants completed all three survey forms. Before the course 32 (61.5%) expected to immediately use the flexible sigmoidoscope without further training. Ten months after the course 33 (63.4%) were using the flexible sigmoidoscope; four additional respondents were expecting to begin using the instrument. Twenty three of these (69.7%) had only attended the course without additional training. Those who found the instrument more difficult to use, or decided immediately after the course that more education was necessary, were less likely to use the instrument. Those not using the instrument also were older, more likely to be in solo practice and more likely to be surgeons. The course altered the educational plans of 23.1% of the respondents. This one-day format combining didactic and laboratory work with the instrument proved to be an efficient and effective means of education for using the instrument.