Office of Continuing Education at CFMC Newsletter


October 2011 CFMC OCE Newsletter
The way in which you deliver information during your continuing medical education (CME) activity is almost as important as the quality of information you are delivering. The appropriate activity format will help the activity achieve the desired outcome in terms of knowledge, skills and professional performance.¹ Lecture-based presentations continue to be the most common activity format for physician education. In a recent survey conducted in collaboration with the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP), 46% of the 327 respondents stated that they preferred lecture format for CME activities.² However, in recent years, the effectiveness of this popular CME activity has come under scrutiny. In 2008, the Macy Report published that traditional didactic CME activities were largely ineffective at changing physician behavior. The Report went on to find that interactive, multimodal CME activities were more effective in terms of changing physician behavior and physician retention of information. In the AAFP study, 39% of respondents said they remembered more following an interactive session than a lecture format. If you are not a CE professional, you may be unaware of the different activity formats that are approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ according to the American Medical Association.³ Let’s look at each. These activity formats include the following: Live activity Enduring material Journal-based CME New procedures Test item writing Manuscript review Performance improvement Internet point of care (PoC) learning The AMA defines a live activity as one you must attend either in person or virtually in order to claim credit. Some examples include national conferences, grand rounds or live Internet teleconferences. Enduring materials are defined as printed, recorded, audio, video and/or online activities that may be used over time at various locations. It is important to remember that enduring materials must include some type of learner interaction or self assessment and credit may only be awarded to those that meet a minimum performance level. Some examples of this interaction include case studies or a post-test. Journal-based CME is a planned learning activity that has been identified by an accredited provider from an article within a peer-reviewed, professional journal. Providers must incorporate a mechanism for physician reflection and/or interaction with the article content. This interaction may include an evaluation or examination that is then submitted to the provider. As with enduring materials, journal-based CME must now include some type of learner interaction or self assessment and credit may only be awarded to those that meet a minimum performance level. New procedures courses provide training for physicians on certain topics that allow them to request new or expanded clinical privileges. It is the responsibility of the provider to assess whether the physician has acquired the knowledge or skills to perform the new procedure. During test item writing activities, physicians contribute to the development of high-stakes examinations or certain self-assessment modules by researching, drafting, and defending potential questions. The physician question writers must personally participate in a group peer review of the questions. Providers may designate each test item writing activity for a maximum of ten (10) AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Manuscript review activities physicians critically review assigned journal manuscripts under the collaborative direction of a journal editor and accredited provider. It is important to note that both test item writing and manuscript review assignments must be at a depth and scope that require a review of the literature and a knowledge of the evidence base for either the questions being written or the manuscripts being reviewed. Credit may now only be awarded to physicians that submit reviews deemed to be acceptable by the editors. Providers may designate each accepted manuscript review, as documented by the journal editor, for a maximum of three (3) AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. According to the definition given by the AMA, performance improvement (PI) activities are structured, long-term processes by which a physician or group of physicians can learn about specific performance measures, retrospectively assess their practice, apply these measures prospectively over a useful interval, and re-evaluate their performance. There are three stages to a PI CME activity and providers must ensure that participants integrate all three stages to develop a complete, structured activity. Stage A involves assessing current practice, Stage B involves implementing an intervention based on the performance measures selected in Stage A and Stage C involves re-evaluating performance. Participating physicians must now begin with Stage A. Internet point of care (PoC) is structured, self-directed, online learning by physicians on topics relevant to their clinical practice. Participants must complete three steps: (1) review original clinical questions, (2) identify the relevant sources, and (3) describe the application of their findings to practice. Physicians can claim a half (0.5) AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for successful, documented completion of a PoC activity. What does the data on activity formats tell us? Which format is the most effective? Regardless of the format, the data show that being interactive is the key to an effective activity. This is not surprising—people learn better when they are engaged. However, deciding on an activity format is ultimately the responsibility of your Planning Team during the planning process. Your Planning Team must identify what information needs to be conveyed and the best way to convey it. References: Baumann M, Dellert E. The effectiveness of continuing medical education: guidelines for an evidence-based approach. CPPD Report. 2009;28:1-5. Stephens MB, McKenna M, Carrington K. Adult learning models for large-group continuing medical education activities. Fam Med. 2011;43(5):334-337. The American Medical Association. The physician’s recognition award and credit system: 2010 revision. Available at: www.arrs.org. Accessed September 2011. From The Healthcare Quality Coalition Of Colorado (HQCC) After a 3rd successful Certified Professional in Healthcare Quality (CPHQ) review the HQCC are holding a CPHQ review day on Friday November 11th from 8-5PM. After the 2010 CPHQ review day, HQCC celebrate a 100% pass rate of the CPHQ exam. Participants attributed their success to the comprehensive review day and state: This one day review, a huge success, welcomes back Nancy Claflin, PhD, RN, who presents a thorough and impressive review. With humor and experiential examples, Nancy focuses on essential components of the quality certification and prepares participants for the CPHQ certification examination. "Nancy's class helped reinforce everything we had been studying previously and also gave us a much better idea about what to expect on the CPHQ Exam. We weren’t quite sure of the "type" of questions to expect on the CPHQ Exam, but during the class Nancy shared that there are less "recall" questions than are typically found on similar exams. I also agree that our results on the NAHQ sample test closely mirrored our actual results on the CPHQ exam". To register, go to http://hqcc.org/ and click on Education tab. CFMC's Online eLearning Services Online education is a major asset to any healthcare organization’s continuing education program. Some benefits of CFMC’s online eLearning services include: Reaching a National Audience Affordable Convenient Learning Resource—Available to Learners 24/7 Accredited Programs Developed Based upon Adult Learning Principles Electronic Evaluations & Outcomes Measurement Tools Immediate Credit Certificate Delivery In-house Technical Assistance CME Consulting Services Visit www.yourCEsource.org for more information about our continuing education services to award credit to physicians, nurses, psychologists, and others. You may also call Lorraine Pickrell at 1-800-950-8250, ext. 3372. CFMC Upcoming Educational Activities Visit www.yourCEsource.org for a complete list of upcoming educational activities.