CME Outcome Measurement: Irrational Expectations

More on this later... My staff and I are consumed this month jousting with a particularly quixotic windmill. Every four years, we draft a self-study report as part of our re-accreditation survey to be able to offer continuing medical education to physicians. The piece that has to do with planning is reasonable. Identify a gap in knowledge and practice, and design an activity to meet the specific needs and changes desired. Keeping an eye on that process helps us consistently produce evidence-based education. Where we morph into Don Quixote, though, is when we attempt to measure a specific change in a physician’s practice or in patient outcomes as a result of a one hour CME presentation.