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Tracy Hampton, PhD

JAMA. 2008;299(9):1003-1004.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Although continuing education of physicians and other health professionals is essential to ensure that patients receive current and correct medical care, experts are questioning the nature and funding of many programs.

"Continuing education in the health professions is in disarray" and the accreditation mechanisms for it are "unnecessarily complex yet insufficiently rigorous," concluded a summary of a conference last fall on continuing education in the health professions (http://www.josiahmacyfoundation.org/index.php?section=home). The conference, convened by the Josiah Macy, Jr Foundation, included 36 leaders in medicine, nursing, and education who debated how best to keep clinicians abreast of new developments and who should pay for such efforts.

Experts say improvements are needed in continuing education programs for health care professionals. For example, accredited programs place too much emphasis on lectures instead of on activities that improve performance. (Photo credit: Ted Grudzinski/AMA)

"Health care professionals must keep up to date, . . . [Full Text of this Article]

PRACTICE-BASED LEARNING

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Financial Support of Continuing Medical Education
Robert Steinbrook
JAMA. 2008;299(9):1060-1062.
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