Priorities and practices of continuing medical education program directors

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Continuing Professional Development
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Continuing Medical Education (CME) is crucial for maintaining physician competency.
• Program directors are responsible for developing and implementing CME initiatives.
• Understanding their priorities is key to effective CME program design.

Purpose of the Study:

• To survey CME program directors regarding their priorities and practices.
• To identify key issues in CME program development and execution.
• To compare priorities across different types of CME providers.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to program directors across various healthcare organizations.
• Respondents represented community hospitals, medical schools, specialty societies, and state medical societies.
• Data analysis focused on identifying common priorities and inter-group differences.

Main Results:

• Program directors identified the measurement of educational needs and outcomes as the most important issues.
• A high degree of congruence was observed between ideal priorities and attained practices.
• Medical schools showed greater concern for funding and accountability, while community hospitals focused on needs assessment and director training.

Conclusions:

• CME program directors share similar priorities, particularly in needs assessment and outcome measurement.
• While generally congruent, specific concerns vary slightly among different provider types.
• The majority of directors support mandatory CME credits, recertification, and relicensure.