Evaluation of Continuing Professional Development for Physicians - Time for Change: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Health Professions Education Evaluation

Background:

• Effective evaluation of continuing professional development (CPD) programs for physicians is vital for enhancing patient care and safety.
• Current evaluations in health professions education (HPE) often prioritize outcomes over process, limiting understanding of intervention effectiveness.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify evaluation techniques used in physicians' CPD programs.
• To determine the implementation and quality of these evaluation techniques.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across major databases (PubMed, Embase, Web of Science) for English publications over the past decade.
• A data charting template and a quality assessment checklist were used to extract and evaluate study details.

Main Results:

• 101 studies were included, with a significant majority (91) not utilizing an evaluation framework.
• Shortcomings identified include insufficient attention to intervention processes, unintended outcomes, contextual factors, theoretical underpinnings, and the rationale for method selection.

Conclusions:

• There are substantial gaps in the evaluation methodologies for physicians' CPD programs.
• Future evaluations must incorporate both program processes and outcomes to fully understand the mechanisms driving impact.