Continuing medical education in Wales: a survey of geriatricians

Barriers and facilitators to the uptake of the Concussion Awareness Training Tool as continuing medical education in primary care

Aim

Continuing medical education (CME) informs physicians on current research. The Concussion Awareness Training Tool (CATT) provides education on concussion diagnosis and treatment. The aims of this study were to explore physician CME practices and preferences, understand barriers and facilitators to implementing the CATT as CME, and provide recommendations.

Materials & methods

Physicians in British Columbia, Canada participated in an online survey and telephone interview. Descriptive analysis of quantitative data, and text-based data analysis were undertaken to identify themes.

Results

Barriers included lack of time and awareness of the resource. Facilitators were its ease of use, accessibility, conciseness and comprehensiveness.

Conclusion

The perceptions of barriers and facilitators reported by physicians are important to understand and better promote the use of the CATT.

Perceptions of continuing medical education, professional development, and organizational support in the United Arab Emirates

INTRODUCTION

This paper investigates the views of health care providers on continuous medical education (CME). To our knowledge, this is one of the first surveys to examine perspectives of CME in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

METHODS

A 6-part questionnaire focused on the following areas of CME: the workshop leaders/trainers, the training experience, the relevance of CME information provided in the training session, the training approach, the convenience of CME sessions, and organizational support.

RESULTS

Results from 147 respondents indicated moderate satisfaction with these 6 CME areas. Respondents did not indicate satisfaction with organizational support received. Furthermore, participants agreed with the importance of CME to professional development.

DISCUSSION

In our sample of UAE health care workers, they agree on the importance and relevance of CME to the development of their profession, even though the majority of health care workers are expatriates. However, several issues must be addressed, such as organizational, logistical, and financial support to attend CME programs. These issues must be addressed in order to sustain the viability of healthcare workers attending CME.

On-site to on-line: barriers to the use of computers for continuing education

BACKGROUND

Continuing education/continuing medical education (CE/CME) programs that adopt self-directed, computer-based instruction formats via the Internet or CD-ROM can ease the demands placed on clinicians who are required by licensing boards to accumulate CE/CME credits as part of their career-long learning. Despite the benefits and availability of computer-based instruction, on-site programs still dominate current CE/CME delivery modes. In order to increase the use of computer-based CE/CME programs, it is important to identify the barriers that inhibit their use.

METHOD

A survey was conducted to assess the practices, preferences, and barriers to use of CE/CME delivery methods among physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants in Nevada.

RESULTS

Of 3,213 surveys sent, 1,120 were completed and returned for an overall response rate of 35%. In-person conferences (93%) and print-based methods (66%) were the most frequently reported methods of acquiring CE/CME. The majority of respondents had access to computer-based technologies. Respondents with more years in clinical practice were less likely to have access to or to use computer-based technologies. The top three preferred CE/CME delivery modes, in rank order, were in-person conferences, print-based self-study, and CD-ROM. The least preferred method of receiving CE/CME was interactive audioconference (telephone conference calls). "Not knowing how" was the most frequently reported reason for not using the Internet for computer-based training and the second most frequent reason for not using a CD-ROM.

IMPLICATIONS

Program planners may wish to offer training in new technologies during on-site conferences, provide CD-ROMs as take-home instructional materials, or promote technology awareness in other ways to help clinicians prepare for changes in the electronic delivery of health care and education.