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Volume 15 (4)
Volume 15, Issue 4, December 1995
J Contin Educ Health Prof 1995; 15(4):209-216
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Diary Use for Physicians to Record Self-Directed Continuing Medical Education
Craig Campbell, MD, FRCPC
John T. Parboosingh, MB, ChB, FRCSC
Robert D. Fox, EdD
S. Tunde Gondocz, MSc
A b s t r a c t
A pocket-size diary was offered to 4005 volunteers, physicians, and surgeons practicing
across Canada in 10 specialties. Volunteers were requested to keep records of their
self-directed continuing medical education (SD CME) activities for a period of 10 months in
1993. At the end of this period, they were surveyed to determine use of the diary, their opinion
about keeping records of SD CME activities, and their acceptance of the MOCOMP* program’s
philosophy. A second survey was undertaken of volunteers who had not used the diary. A total
of 2188 volunteers responded to the survey. Of those, 56.6% reported using the diary. Respondents
concurred with four statements in the survey, which correlated with their reported use of the
diary. A significant positive association was found with statements concerning their understanding
of what to record, identifying which keywords to enter into the diary, and whether
recording SD CME activities helped them to think about the care of patients. No correlation
was found between recording activities and the ability of physicians to identify a potential impact
that the SD CME activity may have on their practice. The number one reason given by those
who did not complete their diaries was an abhorrence to filling in forms. Overall, the degree
of compliance in using the diary was encouraging. Additionally, over two thirds of the volunteers
who used the diary reported that they would personally recommend the MOCOMP program
to their colleagues. The next steps for the program include developing a software tool to enhance
the educational value of a personal diary for SD CME activities.
Keywords: Continuing medical education; lifelong learning; maintenance of competence; self-directed learning
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