Journal of European CME最新文献

The increasing mobility of patients and healthcare professionals across the countries of Europe has highlighted the wide variations in both medical training, and provision of medical competency and skills. The maintenance of the standards defining competency and skills have national and international implications and have proved challenging for national regulatory bodies. Thus each nation has introduced different types of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), recertification and relicensing systems. At the Symposium entitled: " 'Certified … now what?' On the Challenges of Lifelong Learning" in August 2017 at the Association for Medical Education in Europe (AMEE) annual conference, we reviewed differing European national relicensing systems were reviewed. The review highlighted various lifelong learning and competence assessment approaches using examples from different medical specialties across several European countries.

The august setting of the Royal College of Physicians of Ireland saw participants from 17 different countries assemble for the Tenth European CME Forum between 8th and 10th November 2017. The main themes of the meeting were classified under the headings Inward (Educational design), Outward (Listening to others) and Onward (Collaborations and partnerships) addressed via a combination of presentations, interactive workshops, posters, and panel discussions. Topics explored included team engagement, the voice of the patient, harmonisation in European accreditation, competencies for CME professionals, and publishing in CME. Discussion evoked both consensus and contention and provided participants with excellent networking opportunities moving forward to the next decade of Forum meetings.

Introduction: To ensure best-quality education in orthopaedic trauma, the AOTrauma Education Commission conducted a Global Needs Analysis with practising surgeons worldwide. Material and methods: During July to November 2012, an email invitation to complete an online set of 30 questions in eight languages was sent to our members and associates in all countries through AOTrauma's regional networks. Non-members were invited to participate through collaboration with orthopaedic societies. Results: A total of 3,790 surgeons practising orthopaedic trauma (49%), orthopaedic (15%), general trauma (15%) and specialty orthopaedic (13%) surgeons responded worldwide. Seventy per cent completed all questions, and the top 10 countries accounted for half the responses. The top 3 areas of educational need were orthopaedic trauma, joint replacement and preservation, and pelvis and acetabulum. Aspects influencing likelihood to attend face-to-face courses were: expert faculty, focus on a specific topic, clear objectives, and discussion and feedback from experts. Barriers to attending courses were time away from practice, cost and lack of availability or access. Conclusion: The Global Needs Analysis helped our educational committees to identify short- and mid-term priorities over recent years. Adjustments in our planning have helped meet the needs of our audience on a global, regional and national level.

The importance of interprofessional education (IPE) in continuing medical education and professional development has long been recognised by health organisations and academic societies, benefiting not only patient outcomes and interprofessional relationships but also overall health systems and workforce shortage. We report on the outcomes of an Australian IPE activity on medication-overuse headache (MOH) with general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists as learners. The design of the activity, which followed the predisposing-enabling-reinforcing instructional framework by Green and Kreuter, aimed to: (1) improve knowledge and foster a willingness in GPs and pharmacists to work collaboratively to enhance the prevention, diagnosis and management of MOH; and (2) address their educational gap by demonstrating the utility of a blended learning IPE strategy on MOH. Integrated into the activity was an assessment of its effectiveness and impact to instil change in the participants' knowledge of MOH, attitude and willingness to treat, and clinical practice behaviours of GPs and pharmacists to work together. The learners gained knowledge and confidence in diagnosing and managing MOH and in their ability to educate patients. The IPE approach suited the activity and was valued by the participating GPs and pharmacists, who seldom experience such learning formats. However, for educational providers in Australia, developing and deploying an independent medical education (IME) programme can be challenging. Providers of IMEs need to be aware of the potential pitfalls when competing with pharmaceutical-company-sponsored and delivered programmes.

Outcome measurements play a key role in professional CME (Continuing Medical Education). While assessment of delegate satisfaction and knowledge transfer is a common standard, it appears desirable to address higher levels of evidence. However, measurement of competence and performance is considered complex, difficult and expensive. The CIS (Change Impact Score) is a novel instrument to predict the relevance of the educational intervention to the professional performance of the physician, based on a standardised on-site self-assessment.

Lifelong learning through continuing professional development (CPD) and medical education is critical for healthcare professionals to stay abreast of knowledge and skills and provide an optimal standard of care to patients. In Europe, CPD and medical education are fragmented as there are numerous models, providers and national regulations and a lack of harmonisation of qualitative criteria. There is continued debate on the appropriate role of pharmaceutical companies in the context of medical education. Accrediting bodies such as European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education do not permit active involvement of the pharmaceutical industry due to concerns around conflicts of interest and potential for bias. However, many examples of active collaboration between pharmaceutical companies and medical societies and scientific experts exist, demonstrating high integrity, clear roles and responsibilities, and fair and balanced content. Medical education experts from 16 pharmaceutical companies met to develop a set of quality principles similar to standards that have been established for clinical trials and in alignment with existing principles of accrediting bodies. This paper outlines their proposal for a framework to improve and harmonise medical education quality standards in Europe, and is also an invitation for all stakeholders to join a discussion on this integrative model.

Objective: This international needs assessment was mandated by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) to obtain an in-depth understanding of the current gaps and challenges of European cardiology professionals, with the aim to provide evidence for the development of needs-driven educational and professional development activities. Methods: This ethics-approved needs assessment was conducted among cardiologists from all sub-specialties across 56 countries of Europe and the Mediterranean basin. A mixed-methods research approach was used, combining qualitative in-depth interviews and focus groups with a quantitative survey. Results: Seventy-four (74) cardiologists participated in the qualitative phase and 866 completed the survey. Respondents represented 52 of the 56 targeted countries. Three themes were identified: 1) Challenges in the clinical decision-making process, 2) Challenges in establishing the patient-physician relationship, and 3) Sub-optimal team communication and collaboration. Specific gaps and causalities related to each challenge were found. Although most of the gaps were common across countries and sub-specialties, some significant differences were noted. Conclusion: The findings of this needs assessment indicate gaps and challenges in clinical practice across countries and across sub-specialities. Taking cardiology as an example, this study identifies clear areas of focus, especially around issues of collaboration and communication, for targeted competency-based education in Europe.