The Viewpoints of Continuing Medical Education Directors and Experts about the Characteristics of an Effective Needs Assessment Model for Physicians, Dentists and Pharmacists

Introduction. Needs assessment data provide a basis for developing learning objectives of CME activities. Identifying the viewpoints of Iranian CME experts about the characteristics of an effective needs assessment (NA) model for physicians’, dentists’ and pharmacists’ CME programs was the aim of this study. Methods. In a descriptive study all CME directors and experts (50 persons) were surveyed using a questionnaire composed of 6 multiple choice questions about some key components of CME needs assessment including the best definition for need, the source of data collection, the required level, and the procedure and criteria for prioritizing the needs. The face and content validity of the questionnaire were evaluated by some CME experts and Cronbach’s alpha was used for reliability assessment. The data was analyzed by SPSS software using frequency distribution and Chi2. Results. A total of 35 CME directors and experts (70%) responded to the survey. Based on their points of view: The best definition for need was “the distance between the present and optimum situation”(68.6%), the best source for needs assessment was “professional tasks” (34.3%), the most proper level for planning needs assessment was “national level” (34.3%) , the best method for performing needs assessment was “running needs assessment as a part of strategic planning” (45.8%) and “perceived needs of the clients” (48.6%), selection of needs assessment model according to “the level of needs assessment (37.1%)”, and the best criterion for prioritizing the needs was “the relevance with the professional tasks” ( 51.4%). Conclusion. Despite numerous literature about needs assessment, there is no unique model as the best appropriate one for all CME needs assessment programs. But, careful selection of needs assessment model for each situation, designing the content of continuing education programs based on previous needs assessments, identifying what is supposed to be assessed, and its position in planning and designing the topics of continuing education are the key points in planning needs assessment for continuing education