Measuring the effectiveness of a pilot continuing medical education program

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Continuing Medical Education (CME)
• Family Medicine

Background:

• Family physicians identified with serious practice deficiencies require targeted interventions.
• Assessing and enhancing clinical performance is crucial for quality patient care.
• The University of Manitoba's Clinical Assessment and Enhancement Program identifies physicians needing improvement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a learner-centered, small group continuing medical education (CME) program.
• To determine if this CME program improves the clinical performance of family physicians with identified practice deficiencies.

Main Methods:

• A nonrandomized control trial was conducted with 15 family physicians (5 study, 10 control).
• Physician performance was assessed via patient chart review at baseline, 6 months, and 18 months.
• A two-way analysis of variance was used to analyze changes in performance scores.

Main Results:

• Study subjects, initially scoring lower than controls, demonstrated significant performance improvements post-CME.
• Improvements were observed in clinical care, preventive care, charting, and drug utilization.
• The positive impact of the CME program was sustained over the 18-month follow-up.

Conclusions:

• Learner-centered, small group CME is an effective strategy for enhancing physician clinical performance.
• Targeted CME programs can successfully address practice deficiencies in family physicians.
• This educational model contributes to improved healthcare quality.