Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions



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CURRENT ISSUE BACK ISSUES SUBSCRIBE ADVERTISE ABOUT JCEHP FOR AUTHORS JCEHP AWARD SEARCH		Volume 25 (3) Volume 25, Issue 3, Summer 2005 J Contin Educ Health Prof 2005; 25(3):144-150 INNOVATIONS Council Of Medical Specialty Societies: Committed To Continuing Medical Education Reform Walter J. McDonald, MD, MACP A b s t r a c t The Council of Medical Specialty Societies (CMSS) recognizes the need for continuing medical education (CME) reform and intends to be actively engaged in that process. While recognizing that CME reform must involve many organizations, the CMSS and particularly the 23 societies that make up the CMSS are in a position to affect many of the needed changes. Of these, perhaps the most important is the need to link CME to a change in physician behavior and patient outcomes. Other important tasks involve the expansion and improvement of available needs assessment modalities, the development and updating of curricula, the official recognition of multiple modalities available for physician learning, the broadening of the CME research agenda, and the need to explore alternate ways of financing lifelong learning. With the accomplishment of these reforms, medical education may finally be viewed as a continuum from undergraduate education through education of the practicing physician, and patient safety will be favorably impacted. Education will change from an episodic experience to a continuous process and one that is based on the realities of practice. These reforms will take time to accomplish and to be accepted by a profession that currently views itself as besieged by regulatory agencies and without the time and resources needed to comply with the changes. Lessons for Practice There is an urgent need to reform CME to meet the needs for improved quality and safety of medical care This need can be met only by a cooperative effort of the medical education community at all levels Organized medicine seems prepared to cooperate to meet this need Medical societies must assign a high priority to the reform movement or risk losing the opportunity to play a major role CME has an opportunity to assume a much greater role in the profession Education must become continuous and practice based with self assessment taking a much greater role The profession must re-examine the funding base of education Key Words: Medical Education; Continuing; Reform; Educational Needs Assessment; Physician; Lifelong Learning; Improvement; Competence; Patient Outcomes
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