Increased understanding of medical education pathways in Europe as a potential quality factor in CME – a comprehensive assessment of the current landscape

Abstract

Traditionally, continuing medical education (CME) activities were delivered on a country-by-country basis with very little expansion across borders. With a strong belief in the globalisation of medicine, the expansion of educational activities to other countries or regions has become of great interest for medical education providers, associations and pharmaceutical companies. While language barriers and accreditation requirements are widely respected, with several publications accessible, very little attention has been paid to diff erences in the medical education pathways and underlying national health care systems—potentially leading to diff erent learning styles and learning needs. In order to address this question, the following research project was documented and analysed based on a structured questionnaire on three main aspects of under- and postgraduate education and continuing medical education (CME) in 12 European countries: 1. Terminology: Increased understanding of terminology applied beyond language barriers, for example, do we mean the same when using the same term? 2. CME systems: Detailed documentation on national CME requirements, including review of impact for physicians, for example, the implications of stated requirements as well as roles and responsibilities. 3. Medical education pathways: Documentation of the medical education pathway from undergraduate to postgraduate and life-long learning, including how CME is embedded in this pathway as well as underlying structures. Field research was performed from October 2010 till October 2011 by native speakers with a medical or pharmaceutical background. It revealed significant differences in all areas analysed with subsets of countries following similar models. Bearing in mind the objective of offering best quality in response to learners’ needs, this research project may serve as a relevant source for providers of medical education and medical societies when developing educational programmes for their members as well as for the set-up of global projects and collaboration. In addition, the information gathered and analysed may serve as an interesting resource for CME professionals in various positions. The next step will be to analyse the impact of integrating this knowledge into the educational planning process for national and international projects and to assess if this will prove to be an additional quality factor for educational programmes and will improve outcomes. Keywords: CME, medical education systems, accreditation, learning styles, educational planning. (Published: 4 April 2012) DOI: 10.3109/21614083.2012.662891