Introduction: Little is known about the factors that influence family physician (FP) participation in continuing professional development (CPD) programs in shared decision making (SDM). We sought to identify the factors that motivate FPs to participate in DECISION+, a CPD program in SDM. Methods: In 2007-2008, we collected data from 39 FPs who…

Over the past decade Problem-based Learning (PBL) and distance education have been combined as educational approaches in higher education. This combination has been called distributed PBL (dPBL). However, more research is needed to obtain more evidence and deeper insight in how to design and implement dPBL. The present study aims at describing the…

Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive framework of quality improvement competencies for use in continuing professional development (CPD) and continuing medical education (CME) for European general practice/family medicine physicians (GPs/FDs). Methods: The study was carried out in three phases: literature review,…

Introduction: Performance of health care professionals depends on both medical knowledge and the certainty with which they possess it. Conventional continuing medical education interventions assess the correctness of learners' responses but do not determine the degree of confidence with which they hold incorrect information. This study describes…

Introduction: There has been a surge of interest in the area of bias in industry-supported continuing medical education/continuing professional development (CME/CPD) activities. In 2007, we published our first study on measuring bias in CME, demonstrating that our assessment tool was valid and reliable. In light of the increasing interest in this…

Introduction: Considerable time and money are invested in continuing medical education (CME) for family physicians (FPs) but the effectiveness is uncertain. The participation of FPs as coordinators and teachers is not well known. The goal of this project was to describe the role of FPs in organizing and teaching CME events that are accredited for…

Introduction: Improving Performance in Practice (IPIP) is an initiative convened by the American Board of Medical Specialties. It investigates the efficacy of coaches in helping primary-care practices improve the care of patients with diabetes and asthma. Most IPIP states use coaches who have a health care background, and are trained in quality…

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is expected to increase in prevalence in the coming decades. The evolving nature of COPD outcome assessment and therapies, as well as the increasing societal burden of COPD, have created a significant challenge for primary-care physicians. As a result, a continuing medical education/continuing education…

Introduction: Several recent studies highlight that physicians are not very accurate at assessing their competence in clinical domains when compared to objective measures of knowledge and performance. Instead of continuing to try to train physicians to be more accurate self-assessors, the research suggests that physicians will benefit from…

The specific purpose of this Directory is to create a single reference listing of all the approved family practice training programs for physicians, detailing the unique characteristics of each program. The Directory lists, by alphabetical order of States, all approved family practice residency programs in the United States through June 30, 1972.…

Saturday at the University is a three-year update course for family physicians covering all medical topics. Outstanding teachers give presentations followed by a question-and-answer period. Handouts based on important points are distributed. The program was deemed successful based upon large attendance (370 participants), high degree of…

Because participation in continuing education is usually voluntary, it is essential that organizers of continuing education understand the patterns of participation among their prospective clientele. General practitioners in New Zealand were surveyed on their participation in continuing medical education. (Author/MLW)

A survey of 200 specialists to determine their attitudes about and interactions with family practice is reported. Most physicians learned about family practice through referrals, in-hospital activities, and medical conferences. Suggestions are made for improving communication and information dissemination about family practice. (MSE)

A study of the impact of family physicians' participation in continuing medical education activities on the quality of their professional services, as measured by an in-office audit of a random selection of charts, found no relationship between care and educational activities. (MSE)

Ninety-eight internists and 73 family physicians were asked which of six information sources they consulted when faced with difficult medical problems. Results indicate that internists prefer consulting the medical literature, whereas family physicians rely on colleagues and specialists as sources of information. (Author/CH)