The continuing professional development of physicians: from research to practice

Abstract

The editors of this book are leaders in the field of what was formerly called continuing medical education (CME), now expanded to the continuing professional development (CPD) of physicians. In 16 chapters and 394 pages, more than two dozen authors discuss the most updated ideas regarding how to determine physicians' learning needs, how to facilitate CPD, and how to determine its effectiveness. Each chapter is accompanied by case scenarios that, although not directly related to radiology, nicely illustrate in real-life ways how CPD fits into physicians' lives. The authors emphasize that the term continuing professional development includes educational methods beyond didactic lectures. It embodies concepts of self-directed learning and personal development and considers organizational and system factors. Whereas CME makes us think of a lecture hall, often distanced from the real practice setting, CPD can be seen more readily to occur in practice settings, as well as other learning sites, as near to the practice setting as possible. In 1999, the American Medical Association formally changed the name of its Division of Continuing Medical Education to the Division of Continuing Professional Development to emphasize the notion that the larger process for CME is the lifelong continuing development of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes of physicians.