Brian S. McGowan, PhD, FACEHP

Despite an increased focus and urgency for CE/CME professionals to effectively and systematically assess the impact of their educational interventions, the community has struggled to do so. This struggle is in large part due to the lack of a standardised outcomes language and a set of unified approaches to measure and communicate impact. In the spring of 2018, a group of volunteer educational research scientists and CE/CME professionals established a rigorous consensus-building process in an… Show more

Despite an increased focus and urgency for CE/CME professionals to effectively and systematically assess the impact of their educational interventions, the community has struggled to do so. This struggle is in large part due to the lack of a standardised outcomes language and a set of unified approaches to measure and communicate impact. In the spring of 2018, a group of volunteer educational research scientists and CE/CME professionals established a rigorous consensus-building process in an effort to address this need. This report describes the background, methods and first-year output (Glossary V1) of the Outcomes Standardisation Project (OSP); begins to introduce examples of how the OSP Glossary V1 may support the CE/CME professional community and concludes with plans for the future of establishing a common framework for the profession. Show less

Despite what appear to be valuable short-term gains in understanding and confidence, our interventions rarely lead to the sustainable impacts in practice we ultimately desire—instead, best practices are slow to be adopted and the quality of care being provided remains unexplainably inconsistent. This begs the questions, why is knowledge transfer and translation so challenging in healthcare? And, what may be missing from our educational interventions that prevents them from driving sustained and… Show more

Despite what appear to be valuable short-term gains in understanding and confidence, our interventions rarely lead to the sustainable impacts in practice we ultimately desire—instead, best practices are slow to be adopted and the quality of care being provided remains unexplainably inconsistent. This begs the questions, why is knowledge transfer and translation so challenging in healthcare? And, what may be missing from our educational interventions that prevents them from driving sustained and meaningful change? Show less

ABSTRACT
Background: Within the medical community there is persistent debate as to whether the information available through social media is trustworthy and valid, and whether physicians are ready to adopt these technologies and ultimately embrace them as a format for professional development and lifelong learning.
Objective: To identify how physicians are using social media to share and exchange medical information with other physicians, and to identify the factors that influence… Show more

ABSTRACT
Background: Within the medical community there is persistent debate as to whether the information available through social media is trustworthy and valid, and whether physicians are ready to adopt these technologies and ultimately embrace them as a format for professional development and lifelong learning.
Objective: To identify how physicians are using social media to share and exchange medical information with other physicians, and to identify the factors that influence physicians’ use of social media as a component of their lifelong learning and continuing professional development.
Results: Overall, 117 of 485 (24.1%) of respondents used social media daily or many times daily to scan or explore medical information, whereas 69 of 485 (14.2%) contributed new information via social media on a daily basis. On a weekly basis or more, 296 of 485 (61.0%) scanned and 223 of 485 (46.0%) contributed. In terms of attitudes toward the use of social media, 279 of 485 respondents (57.5%) perceived social media to be beneficial, engaging, and a good way to get current, high-quality information. In terms of usefulness, 281 of 485 (57.9%) of respondents stated that social media enabled them to care for patients more effectively, and 291 of 485 (60.0%) stated it improved the quality of patient care they delivered.
Conclusions: Based on the results of this study, the use of social media applications may be seen as an efficient and effective method for physicians to keep up-to-date and to share newly acquired medical knowledge with other physicians within the medical community and to improve the quality of patient care. Future studies are needed to examine the impact of the meaningful use of social media on physicians’ knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors in practice. Show less

Structured, blended learning models have been developed to help participants more actively engage in learning experiences, as opposed to traditional didactic sessions. A flipped classroom model allows learners to build on self-directed online prework in an interactive and collaborative learning laboratory.

eLearning is a commonly used term in education today, but what does it mean? This article explores issues that nurse planners and administrators need to be aware of in planning how technology-based education is most effectively delivered.