A compulsory continuing education program for human services providers began with establishment of learning objectives and measurement of their achievement by pretests/posttests. The data were used by providers to improve courses and by learners to plan future training needs. (SK)

Mandatory continuing education is found to be generally inexpensive, not detracting from practice time, undertaken for a variety of positive reasons, and worthwhile for upgrading skills. Many states are increasing continuing education requirements as a means of increasing professional accountability. (MSE)

A study reexamined pharmacists' motivational patterns for participating in pharmacy continuing education. A previous study identified six motivational factors: competency-related curiosity, interpersonal relations, community services, escape from routine, professional advancement, and compliance with external influence. The motivational instrument…

The arguments for and against mandatory continuing education for professionals and critiques of these arguments are presented. A cybernetic model based on comparison of practice performance to standards of practice, educational remedies for weaknesses, and evaluation for relicensure or recertification is presented. (Author/MLW)

Discusses the possibility of compulsory legal education, examining recent experience of the accounting profession with mandatory continuing education, and presenting results of a survey of 400 lawyers which indicated no consensus on the subject. (JT)

Physicians and other health professionals attended either a two-day voluntary (n=27) or one-day mandatory (n=23) conference on toxicology. Groups did not differ in pretest/posttest scores; two-day participants were significantly more satisfied. Both groups demonstrated significant knowledge gains. (SK)

A review of the history of professional continuing education in pharmacy looks at the issues prevalent in the literature on accreditation and certification, the emergence of mandatory continuing education, the evolution of continuing education accreditation, and the developing role of certification at that level. (MSE)

According to responses from 254 of 400 certified public accountants (133 practitioners, 121 educators), 91% believe that mandatory continuing professional education is beneficial and enhances professional image. Most believe it improves the quality of their work; practitioners feel more strongly about the benefits than do educators. (SK)

The influences of the clinical pharmacy and mandatory continuing education movements and the restructuring of the health care system in the early 1970s on the development of curricula for continuing education in pharmacy are discussed. (MSE)

Fiscal and policy implications of continuing education requirements in the health professions are considered, with particular reference to the case of California. For 14 professions, data are presented on the average number of hours of continuing education needed annually to meet the requirement, the costs to the practitioner, and the total annual…

Reviews of the disciplines of law, medicine, engineering, and math/science teaching in Australia examined five issues concerning continuing professional education: (1) importance; (2) purpose; (3) relationship to preservice training; (4) mandatory/voluntary options; and (5) delivery. (SK)

Describes a study involving the distribution of a questionnaire to 30 nurses in northern Illinois to determine the extent of their participation in voluntary continuing education and to determine their attitudes toward mandatory continuing education. (WL)

Although mandatory continuing education (MCE) has a positive effect on the knowledge level of medical practitioners, effects on performance are limited and impact on quality of care is unproven. Similar effects in law have not been studied. Compulsory education has improved quality of and access to programs, but MCE is not assurance or guarantee…

A survey of pharmacists revealed that most pharmacists exceeded the number of required credits, and most credits were acquired by correspondence study. Some differences in preference were found according to sex, age group, and professional position type. (MSE)

Three proposals developed from concerns in the 1960s about the effectiveness of continuing medical education are discussed: a national plan, a process program model based on identified physician needs, and use of mandatory continuing education in relicensing/recertification. Problems are considered, and recommendations for changes are summarized.…