Efforts to improve AME performance through CME and annual performance reports

Continuing medical education (CME) serves to maintain or increase the knowledge, interpretive proficiencies, and technical skills that a physician uses in his/her practice of medicine. Resulting improvement is frequently difficult to measure, particularly in aerospace medicine, but CME is required for relicensure and/or for medical society membership in 70% of states. The Civil Aeromedical Institute first received American Medical Association approval for Category I CME credit for attendance at FAA seminars in January 1973. We began preparing annual performance reports for each aviation medical examiner (AME) in 1979 to attempt to isolate the causes of, and to reduce, computer rejection of about one-fourth of all medical certification input because of omissions or procedural errors. A special analysis of 1983 AME performance data found that errors were significantly reduced with recent and frequent seminar attendance, larger volume of exams, and pilot and military flight surgeon experience.