Effective continuing medical education: A challenge for the future

This report will discuss the history of continuing medical education (CME), its goals, the process of CME accreditation, and the varying requirements by state for licensure and re-certification. The different types and formats of CME will be described, as well as the means of assessing the effectiveness of CME programs. After a discussion of the overall utility of CME, and its effects on participant knowledge, behaviors, and changes in patients' health outcomes, we will look specifically at different theories of adult learning, and whether or not these principles of effective education are being incorporated into the design of CME programs. Finally, we will explore the new directions for CME, and the challenges that educators and course organizers need to face when designing educational programs for physicians in a health care system that is constantly, and rapidly, changing.