MDNews - Mid Hudson

++++++++++++++++++++ TECHNOLOGY digitalBooks M +++ +++ Hitting the MORE AND MORE, PHYSICIANS ARE GOING ONLINE FOR THEIR CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION (CME). EDDATA GROUP, IN an April 2012 study of physician behavior, found that 84% of a group of 971 physicians prefer continu- ing medical education online. American Medical News reported 40% of CME activities were conducted online in 2010, according to the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education. Pros and Cons Cost is a major factor when it comes to choosing online CME. Many online offerings come at minimal or no cost to the user. Flexibility also benefits physicians. Asynchronous delivery methods mean users can access course material any time, anywhere, from just about any platform. Increased versatility, compared with lecture-style classes, also challenges tech-savvy physicians. Instead of "time in seat," Internet CME offers tests and other interactive features, says Will Passano, Vice President of NetLearning, a CME affi liate of Cengage. "New docs are used to technology," he says. "The self-testing, competitive nature [of online CME] pulls people in." On the other hand, says Passano, the camaraderie of conference travel goes missing with online offerings. Contexts Once, CME was the purview of aca- demic centers such as medical schools and teaching hospitals. In the 1970s and 1980s, pharmaceutical companies began financing their own CME offerings. Despite questions about possible confl icts of interest, it is still easy to find online CME courses supported by drug manufacturers. Now, device makers, such as GE Healthcare, offer online CME on topics related to their equipment. A physician wishing to pursue online CME can do so independently, select- ing from product-affiliated CME or courses offered by educational and publishing companies, such as Cengage's NetLearning or McGraw- Hill's AccessSurgery. Often, courses are cheap or free. Hospitals also offer online 28 | Mid Hudson MD NEWS ■ MDNEWS.COM WHY ONLINE CME? "Interaction, collaboration, Medical Education, University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga convenience." — Bill Reynolds, M.B.A., Director of Continuing CME for staff physicians. Because these courses are produced in house or in con- junction with an affi liated medical school, technical quality may be lower. However, coursework will be designed to meet the needs of physicians in those facilities. Bill Reynolds, M.B.A., is Director of Continuing Medical Education at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine, Chattanooga. For him, online CME pro- duced by hospitals and medical schools offers the best of both worlds: the fl exibility of asynchronous access combined with the relevance of house-created materials. "With close interaction [between course makers and course takers], you get to address real-world problems and health care issues," says Reynolds. This kind of collaboration benefits everyone, he says; through developing CME in conjunction with a hospital, the college of medicine becomes "more aware and involved in the real issues physicians face." Fol low the onl ine di scus s ion at www.mdnews.com. ■ ++++++++++++++++++++ + +

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