Document Detail


A systematic review of evaluation in formal continuing medical education.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  17385741     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
INTRODUCTION: Physicians spend a considerable amount of time in Continuing Medical Education (CME) to maintain their medical licenses. CME evaluation studies vary greatly in evaluation methods, levels of evaluation, and length of follow-up. Standards for CME evaluation are needed to enable comparison among different studies and to detect factors influencing CME evaluation. METHODS: A review of the CME evaluation literature was conducted on primary research studies published from January 2000 to January 2006. Studies assessing only satisfaction with CME were excluded, as were studies where fewer than 50% of the participants were practicing physicians. Thirty-two studies were included in the analyses. Determinations were made about evaluation methods, outcome measures, and follow-up assessment. RESULTS: Only 2 of 32 reviewed studies addressed all evaluation levels: physician changes in knowledge and attitudes (level 2), practices (level 3), and improved patient health status (level 4). None of the studies using self-developed instruments (n = 10) provided reliability and validity information. Only 6 studies used validated scales. Twenty studies had a follow-up period of 6 months or less, and 11 had a follow-up period between 1 and 2 years. DISCUSSION: A gold standard for evaluating the effectiveness of CME would include assessment of all 4 levels of evaluation. A valid, reliable, and adaptable CME evaluation questionnaire addressing variables in the second level is needed to allow comparison of effectiveness across CME interventions. A minimum 1-year postintervention follow-up period may also be indicated to investigate the sustainability of intervention outcomes.
Authors:
Jing Tian; Nancy L Atkinson; Barry Portnoy; Robert S Gold
Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  The Journal of continuing education in the health professions     Volume:  27     ISSN:  0894-1912     ISO Abbreviation:  J Contin Educ Health Prof     Publication Date:  2007  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2007-04-02     Completed Date:  2007-05-08     Revised Date:  2007-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  8805847     Medline TA:  J Contin Educ Health Prof     Country:  United States    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  16-27     Citation Subset:  IM    
Affiliation:
Department of Public and Community Health, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742-2611, USA. tianjing@umd.edu
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Clinical Competence*
Education, Medical, Continuing / methods*
Educational Measurement / methods*
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Humans
Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Reproducibility of Results

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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