States are increasingly requiring continuing education for relicensure in health professions. More research is needed on the effectiveness of mandatory continuing education for nurses in terms of patient care outcomes in order to justify this requirement. (SK)

Licensed professional engineers should discourage mandatory continuing education as a requirement for licensing. Such requirements should be instituted only after proof that a serious problem exists and that it could be addressed by continuing education. (RE)

This paper provides, for the state of California: (1) a review of state licensing and continuing education requirements; (2) a brief discussion of trends in legislation along with arguments over the effectiveness of mandatory continuing education; (3) a listing of occupations and their continuing education requirements; (4) a listing of state…

Once the need for continuing learning in professional fields was acknowledged, the idea of voluntary learning evolved into a requirement for mandatory continuing education (MCE) in many professions. Despite the variation among professions and individual states' policies, MCE for professionals is a well-entrenched fact of life for many…

A survey of 22 state medical licensing boards requiring continuing education found that 14 accept attestations; 3 require lists of activities as well; and 17 audit to verify compliance. Common problems include poor recordkeeping and documentation as well as lack of time and staff to conduct audits. (SK)

Ohliger debates the issues raised by Smith (CE 511 136), taking the view that mandatory continuing education is an unacceptable method of ensuring professional quality because it is inherently contradictory to the definition of professionalism, and its effectiveness has not been demonstrated convincingly. (SK)

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…

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…

Primary care physicians in Pennsylvania were asked to give their attitudes and preferences regarding continuing medical education (CME) in an effort to expand and develop physician-oriented CME programs for the Hershey Continuing Education department at Penn State. A 32-item questionnaire was mailed to 952 primary care physicians practicing in…

A study reviewed and compared initial and renewal practices for licensure/registration of 13 health care occupations regulated in the state of Minnesota. It examined mandatory continuing education (MCE) documentation and the practices of licensing boards in their enforcement of the MCE legislation. The Minnesota Statutes and Rules for the…