Assessing needs for community hospital continuing medical education

Between July 1, 1979, and June 30, 1980, 765 programs eligible for Category 1 credit were offered in 35 community hospitals. Data were collected to determine how the need was identified, who was responsible for conducting the needs assessment, and what influenced the choice of method. Data were collected by two methods: reviewing records for each course and interviewing each course director. Courses were planned using analysis of hard data (16 per cent) and an impressionistic method (84 per cent). The course director conducted the needs assessment and chose topics for 47 per cent; learners determined needs for 19 per cent. Possibly, CME programs should be viewed as offering systematic assistance in identifying personal needs and stimulating a physician to learn more by providing an opportunity to compare one's current practice with a desired or standard level. If discrepancies are identified, the physician must decide why they exist and assign levels of priority on resolution.