In general, physicians' interest in research continues to be a challenge. The lack of research culture is more pronounced in the osteopathic medical profession, which is historically not research oriented. With increasing focus on evidence-based medicine and with the single accreditation system for graduate medical education in motion, growing research and scholarly activities among osteopathic...

The issue of mandatory continuing medical education (CME) is controversial. Traditional measures mandate only attendance, not learning, and have no measurable performance end points. There is no evidence that current approaches to CME, mandatory or voluntary, produce sustainable changes in physician practices or application of current knowledge. Ongoing educational development is an important v...

The use of performance-based assessment has been extended to postgraduate education and practising doctors, despite criticism of validity. While differences in expertise at this level are easily reflected in scores on a written test, these differences are relatively small on performance-based tests. However, scores on written tests and performance-based tests of clinical competence generally sh...

Although problem-based learning (PBL) has become one pedagogical approach to gain currency in recent decades, its foundational underpinnings have remained obscure. This investigation seeks to elucidate the theoretical framework or assumptions upon which PBL operates. We have situated core PBL principles in the larger context of health science education, which underwent dramatic changes at the b...

INTRODUCTION In mastering competencies, it is a challenge to create training sessions which acknowledge individual students' needs and are logistically feasible in the medical master's program. METHODS Symposia were implemented in the medical master's program to provide knowledge and training of skills in a number of topics, providing a positive contribution to students' competencies and pers...

As we leave the 20th century, continuing medical education faces many challenges in relation to its effectiveness, efficiency and quality. The young and promising Saudi Council for Health Specialties produces a document on accreditation of continuing medical education, which indicates its interest in this vital subject. This paper aims to enrich the approach to continuing medical education in S...

CME: This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) and the Journal of Special Operations Medicine. USUHS is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for ...

BACKGROUND Internet-based instruction in continuing medical education (CME) has been associated with favorable outcomes. However, more direct comparative studies of different Internet-based interventions, instructional methods, presentation formats, and approaches to implementation are needed. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative evaluation of two Internet-based CME delivery f...

As we venture into the twenty-first century, it is becoming increasingly clear that our ability to cope with the rapid changes and challenges brought on by the new information age at both the micro and the macro levels will become the primary measuring stick for success. These changes were dominant during the twentieth century and will continue to dominate our lives in the new millennium. Educa...

Eduard Seidler sets his discussion of the teaching of medical ethics in the Federal Republic of Germany against an historical background. Immediately after the Second World War the freshness of the memory of the 'Nuremberg Medical Trials' influenced the way in which moral dilemmas were treated in Germany. At the present time no systematic instruction in medical ethics is provided in either unde...