Effect of a Primary Care Continuing Education Program on Clinical Practice of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: Translating Theory Into Practice

Abstract

ObjectivesTo describe the development and implementation process and assess the effect on self-reported clinical practice changes of a multidisciplinary, collaborative, interactive continuing medical education (CME)/continuing education (CE) program on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). MethodsMultidisciplinary subject matter experts and education specialists used a systematic instructional design approach and collaborated with the American College of Chest Physicians and American Academy of Nurse Practitioners to develop, deliver, and reproduce a 1-day interactive COPD CME/CE program for 351 primary care clinicians in 20 US cities from September 23, 2009, through November 13, 2010. ResultsWe recorded responses to demographic, self-confidence, and knowledge/comprehension questions by using an audience response system. Before the program, 173 of 320 participants (54.1%) had never used the Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease recommendations for COPD. After the program, clinician self-confidence improved in all areas measured. In addition, participant knowledge and comprehension significantly improved (mean score, 77.1%-94.7%; P<.001). We implemented the commitment-to-change strategy in courses 6 through 20. A total of 271 of 313 participants (86.6%) completed 971 commitment-to-change statements, and 132 of 271 (48.7%) completed the follow-up survey. Of the follow-up survey respondents, 92 of 132 (69.7%) reported completely implementing at least one clinical practice change, and only 8 of 132 (6.1%) reported inability to make any clinical practice change after the program. ConclusionA carefully designed, interactive, flexible, dynamic, and reproducible COPD CME/CE program tailored to clinicians' needs that involves diverse instructional strategies and media can have short-term and long-term improvements in clinician self-confidence, knowledge/comprehension, and clinical practice.