The Journal of continuing education in the health professions
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J Contin Educ Health Prof · Jan 2003
Continuing medical education and continuing medical education accreditation in Spain.
Nearly all Spanish physicians are employed by public or private institutions, and employers are enabling the continuing medical education (CME) of physicians. In view of coexisting CME accreditation systems in Spain, we conclude that a common approach is needed. We recommend establishing formal relationships with American and European systems to ensure consistent accreditation and mutual recognition of CME credits and improvement in accreditation.
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Since the early 1960s, most discussions about the improvement of continuing medical education (CME) have begun by seeking a better understanding of how physicians learn. The goal of this movement has been to put physician learners and their learning needs, not new research findings, at the center of the educational process. This has led CME away from the update model of education and into many innovative and exciting educational developments. ⋯ Many in medicine and CME now recognize that the real world of physician decision making takes place in a highly charged political-economic context, where the interaction between the patient and physician is perhaps the least complex element. From this fundamental starting point, an emerging discourse has begun in CME that addresses physicians' changing work environments, the accountability schemes and financial incentives built into medical practice, and the importance of physicians' community of peers in making practice changes. We need to build on these observations to change the focus from "how physicians learn" to "where physicians learn." From this new perspective, physician practice and learning are seen as fundamentally social acts, and our attention is drawn to all of the ways in which "place matters." Attention to where physicians practice and learn can be used to improve CME.
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J Contin Educ Health Prof · Jan 2003
Postgraduate educational program for primary care physicians in remote areas in Lebanon.
Continuing medical education (CME) is a requirement in many developed countries. Lebanon lacks such a rule; hence, the dictum "once a doctor always a doctor" holds. This article describes a pioneering postgraduate educational program for primary care physicians in remote areas of Lebanon. ⋯ The CME programs were conducted with minimal costs. They were well received by attendees. It is recommended that the Lebanese health authorities make CME a requirement to promote the knowledge and behavior of primary care physicians and improve health.
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J Contin Educ Health Prof · Jan 2003
Spouse/partner violence education as a predictor of screening practices among physicians.
Spouse/partner violence is a major public health problem that affects 3 to 6 million women per year. Many studies show that the majority of health care practitioners do not detect or respond to cases of spouse/partner violence in their practice. Research suggests that there are potential barriers to reporting or detecting this problem. A barrier often cited is lack of proper education or training regarding spouse/partner violence. The objective of this study was to determine if physicians who received spouse/partner violence education at various stages of their careers were more likely to screen patients for spouse/partner violence. ⋯ Screening every patient for exposure to spouse/partner violence is the ideal situation. This study indicates that education about spouse/partner violence has a significant impact on screening tendencies if provided during a physician's residency program.
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J Contin Educ Health Prof · Jan 2003
A needs assessment of medical school faculty: caring for the caretakers.
We conducted an assessment of need for faculty development and mentoring in a medical school to guide program planning and use of scarce resources. ⋯ Attention to faculty humanistic needs and the disparity between the perceived needs by faculty and senior administrators may help explain the attrition of faculty in academic medicine.