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Volume 23 (3)

Volume 23, Issue 3, Summer 2003 line
J Contin Educ Health Prof 2003; 23(3):157-161
ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Using a quasi-experimental research design to assess knowledge in continuing medical education programs
Markert RJ
O'Neill SC
Bhatia SC

A b s t r a c t

INTRODUCTION: The objectives of continuing medical education (CME) programs include knowledge acquisition, skill development, clinical reasoning and decision making, and health care outcomes. We conducted a year-long medical education research study in which knowledge acquisition in our CME programs was assessed.
METHOD: A randomized separate-sample pretest/past-test design, a quasi-experimental technique, was used. Nine CME programs with a sufficient number of participants were identified a priori. Knowledge acquisition was compared between the control group and the intervention group for the nine individual programs and for the combined programs.
RESULTS: A total of 667 physicians, nurses, and other health professionals participated. Significant gain in knowledge was found for six programs: Perinatology, Pain Management, Fertility Care 2, Pediatrics, Colorectal Diseases, and Alzheimer's Disease (each p < .001). Also, the intervention group differed from the control group when the nine programs were combined (p < .001), with an effect size of .84.
DISCUSSION: The use of sound quasi-experimental research methodology (separate-sample pretest/post-test design), the inclusion of a representative sample of CME programs, and the analysis of nearly 700 subjects led us to have confidence in concluding that our CME participants acquired a meaningful amount of new knowledge.

Lessons for Practice
  • Innovative research designs (e.g., randomized separate-sample pretreat/ post-test design) are often necessary for valid conclusions about continuing medical education (CME) outcomes.
  • Sound research methods (e.g., a representative sample of programs, a large number of participants) enhance the quality of CME research.
  • Standard psychometric methods (e.g., constructing a standard score from a series of programs) can lead to stronger conclusions about CME.
  • A large effect size for knowledge acquisition from CME programs was demonstrated using sound research and psychometric approaches.
MeSH Terms: Education, Medical, Continuing; Educational Measurement; Knowledge; Research Design

Publication Type: Clinical Trial; Randomized Controlled Trial
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