REDESIGNING CONTINUING EDUCATION IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C.
www.nap.edu
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This study was supported by Contract No. B08-03 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
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Suggested citation: IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2010. Redesigning Continuing Education in the Health Professions. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Ralph J. Cicerone is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
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The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.
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COMMITTEE ON PLANNING A CONTINUING HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION INSTITUTE
GAIL L. WARDEN (Chair), President Emeritus,
Henry Ford Health System and
Professor of Health Management and Policy at the University of Michigan,
School of Public Health, Detroit
JAKO S. BURGERS, Harkness Fellow 2008-2009,
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, and
Senior Researcher,
Scientific Institute for Quality of Healthcare (IQ healthcare), Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, The Netherlands
LINDA BURNES BOLTON, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer,
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, California
CATHERINE DEANGELIS, Editor-in-Chief and Senior Vice President,
Scientific Publications and Multimedia Applications, JAMA, Chicago, Illinois, and
Professor,
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland
ROBERT D. FOX, Professor Emeritus of Adult and Higher Education,
University of Oklahoma, Norman
SHERRY A. GLIED, Professor and Chair,
Department of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, New York
KENDALL HO, Director,
eHealth Strategy Office,
Associate Professor,
Division of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver
EDWARD F. LAWLOR, Dean and William E. Gordon Distinguished Professor,
George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri
DAVID C. LEACH, Former Executive Director,
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Asheville, North Carolina
LUCINDA MAINE, Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO),
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, Alexandria, Virginia
PAUL E. MAZMANIAN, Associate Dean for Continuing Professional Development and Evaluation Studies,
School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond
MICHAEL W. PAINTER, Senior Program Officer,
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey
WENDY RHEAULT, Vice President,
Academic Affairs, and
Dean,
College of Health Professions, Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science, North Chicago, Illinois
MARIE E. SINIORIS, President and CEO,
National Center for Healthcare Leadership, Chicago, Illinois
IOM Study Staff
SAMANTHA M. CHAO, Study Director
BERNADETTE MCFADDEN, Research Associate
ADAM SCHICKEDANZ, Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Fellow1
CASSANDRA CACACE, Senior Program Assistant
ROGER C. HERDMAN, Director,
Board on Health Care Services
Reviewers
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the National Research Council’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
ROBERT B. BARON, University of California, San Francisco
PAUL B. BATALDEN, Dartmouth Institute for Health Policy and Clinical Practice
RON CERVERO, University of Georgia
COLLEEN CONWAY-WELCH, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
THEODORE GANIATS, University of California, San Diego
LYNN GERBER, George Mason University
RICHARD KRUGMAN, University of Colorado, Denver
THOMAS J. MONAHAN, West Sand Lake, NY
DONALD E. MOORE, JR., Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
MARLA E. SALMON, University of Washington School of Nursing
MIKE SAXTON, Pfizer, Inc.
DAVID N. SUNDWALL, Utah Department of Health
DAVID SWANKIN, Citizen Advocacy Center
JAMES N. THOMPSON, (former) Federation of State Medical Boards
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by NANCY ADLER, University of California, San Francisco, and SUSANNE STOIBER, Stoiber Health Policy, LLC. Appointed by the National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, they were responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.
Preface
Continuing education (CE) is the process by which health professionals keep up to date with the latest knowledge and advances in health care. However, the CE “system,” as it is structured today, is so deeply flawed that it cannot properly support the development of health professionals. CE has become structured around health professional participation instead of performance improvement. This has left health professionals unprepared to perform at the highest levels consistently, putting into question whether the public is receiving care of the highest possibly quality and safety.
Redesigning Continuing Education in the Health Professions is the result of the work by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Committee on Planning a Continuing Health Care Professional Education Institute. This report does not recommend specific details about the operations of an institute—instead it illustrates a vision for a better system through a comprehensive approach of continuing professional development and a framework upon which to develop a new, more effective system. The report also offers principles to guide the creation of an institute. Refocusing the lens from CE to a system of continuing professional development supports health professionals in achieving the goal of high quality, safe health care.
CE is one of many strategies to strengthen and retool the health care workforce and just one of many pieces necessary to improve health care quality and patient safety. Yet it is a critical piece—one
that has been overlooked for too long. In the current era of health reform, transformation of CE offers an actionable agenda to begin the alignment of learning with public expectations and the needs of health professionals.
I would like to extend my gratitude to the members of the committee for their commitment and dedication in developing a report based on the evidence and sound reasoning. I would also like to thank the many individuals and organizations who contributed their time to provide input to the committee’s deliberations. Finally, I would like to express my appreciation to the IOM, in particular IOM senior staff and Samantha Chao, study director, for their tireless efforts.
Gail L. Warden
Chair
Committee on Planning a Continuing Health Care Professional Education Institute
December 2009
Acknowledgments
Many individuals and organizations contributed to this study. Most specifically, the committee and staff would like to thank those experts who testified at the public workshop held on December 11, 2008, and February 12, 2009, in Washington, DC:
Cathryn Clary, Pfizer, Inc.
Linda Coogle, North American Association of Medical Education and Communication Companies
Jeanne Floyd, American Nurses Credentialing Center
David Gibson, Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions
Dwight Hymans, Association of Social Work Boards
John T. James, Patient Safety Advocate
Murray Kopelow, Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
Patricia Lane, National Black Nurses Association and Inova Fairfax Hospital
Michael A. Moore, Danville Regional Medical Center
Lisa Robin, Federation of State Medical Boards
Mike Saxton, Pfizer, Inc.
Rebecca Snead, National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations
David Swankin, Citizen Advocacy Center
Peter Vlasses, Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education
We would also like to acknowledge the individuals who provided insight and expertise, supporting the committee’s efforts throughout the report process:
Karen Adams, National Quality Forum
Neese Boston, American Psychological Association
Ashley Byrd, American Psychological Association
Stephanie J. L. Chambers, National Association of Social Workers Credentialing Center
Richard Cole, Federation of Chiropractic Licensing
Todd Dorman, Johns Hopkins University
Bill Dubbs, American Association for Respiratory Care
Martin Eccles, Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group
Thomas W. Elwood, Association of Schools of Allied Health Professions
Kelly Evans, American Therapeutic Recreation Association
Michelle Fiander, Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group
Jan Frustaglia, Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare
Marc Goldstein, American Physical Therapy Association
MaryAnn Gruden, Association of Occupational Health Professionals in Healthcare
Karen M. Hart, American Dental Association
Sarah D. Hertfelder, American Occupational Therapy Association
Norman Kahn, Council of Medical Specialty Societies
Gabrielle Kane, University of Washington
Alain D. Mayhew, Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group
Kathleen McGovern, Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group
Mindi McKenna, American Association of Family Physicians
Sherry Merkur, London School of Economics and Political Science
Greg J. Neimeyer, American Psychological Association
Karen L. Niles, American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
Elizabeth J. Paulsen, Cochrane Effective Practice and Organisation of Care Group
Laure Perrier, University of Toronto
Joan Polancic, American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science
Kate Regnier, Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
Lisa Robin, Federation of State Medical Boards
Robert Rogers, Institute for Health Policy, Harvard Medical School
Corina Schmidt, American Society of Radiologic Technologists
Marcia Segura, American Psychological Association
Greg Thomas, American Academy of Physician Assistants
Dimitra V. Travlos, Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education
Emma L. Wong, Nuclear Regulatory Commission
We extend special thanks to David Blumenthal and Eric Campbell, Institute for Health Policy, Harvard Medical School, and Dave Davis, Association of American Medical Colleges, who were unpaid consultants to the committee in their capacities as grantees of the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation. Drs. Blumenthal and Campbell offered support and advice about the financing of continuing education, most specifically about estimating the costs of continuing medical education; Dr. Davis provided guidance on lifelong learning.
Many within the Institute of Medicine were helpful to the study staff. The staff would like to thank Susan McCutchen, William McLeod, Janice Mehler, Joi Washington, and Benjamin Wheatley for their time and support to further the committee’s efforts.
Finally, the committee would like to thank and recognize the support from George Thibault of the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation for sponsoring the study.
Boxes, Figures, and Tables
Summary Box
S-1 |
Statement of Task, |
Chapter 1 Table
1-1 |
Comparing Training, Education, and Professional Development, |
Box
1-1 |
Statement of Task, |
Chapter 2 Figures
2-1 |
Accredited methods of CE by hours of instruction, |
|||
2-2 |
Closing the research-practice gaps for health care professionals and continuing education professionals, |
Tables
2-4 |
Continuum of Outcomes for Planning and Assessing CE Activities, |
|||
2-5 |
Overview of Select Theories of Learning, |
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2-6 |
Theoretical Assumptions of Andragogy: “The Art and Science of Helping Adults Learn,” |
Chapter 3 Figures
3-1 |
Average number of annual CE hours for physicians (M.D.s) (top) compared to physical therapists (bottom), |
|||
3-2 |
Hours of directly sponsored CME by organization type, |
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3-3 |
A convergence-of-interest model of commercial support, |
Tables
3-1 |
Examples of CME Activities by Category, |
|||
3-2 |
Comparison of CE Providers, Activities, Requirements, and Consequences of Failing to Meet Those Requirements in Four Health Professions, |
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3-3 |
Overview of Current CE Financing in Medicine, |
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3-4 |
Financial Support of CME for Different Types of Organizations, 2007, |
Boxes
Chapter 4 Table
4-1 |
Overview of the Alternatives, |
Chapter 5 Figure
5-1 |
The continuing professional development cycle and system, |
Boxes
Chapter 6 Figure
6-1 |
Suggested process for the development of a CPDI, |
Boxes
6-1 |
Trusted Agent Model: Compiling Evidence to Support CPD, |
|||
6-2 |
Competencies for Planning Committee Membership, |
Chapter 7 Table
7-1 |
Criteria Adopted by Select Organizations, |
APPENDIX A Tables
A-1 |
Summary of Systematic Reviews on Effectiveness of CE Methods, |
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A-2 |
Literature Review on the Effectiveness of CE Methods, |
APPENDIX B Table
B-1 |
Health Care Occupations Identified in the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Outlook Handbook 2008-2009, |
APPENDIX C Tables
C-1 |
Continuing Medical Education—An International Comparison, |
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C-2 |
Synthesis of Models for Assessing Continuing Competence, |
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C-3 |
Continuing Dental Education—An International Comparison, |
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C-4 |
Continuing Pharmaceutical Education—An International Comparison, |
Boxes