In order for physicians to stay on top of their game professionally, they are often required to take continuing education courses. But there are certain things that physicians look for, and desire more, when it comes to who provides them. Let's take a closer look at five of them.
Why Continuing Medical Education?
According to the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education, CME involves "that body of knowledge and skills generally recognized and accepted by the profession as within the basic medical sciences, the discipline of clinical medicine, and the provision of health care to the public."
There are a few different aspects of continuing medical education that physicians can participate in, and they involve management (for physicians that run a facility), educational methodology (for physicians that teach at the medical school level), and practice management (for physicians that run a small office, but this is especially for those physicians that want to run their small office better). As you're planning your CME activities, keep these traits in mind in your medical marketing efforts.
Trait #1: Accreditation
One of the most important things that you, as a physician, need to look for in your continuing education provider is if they are accredited. A proper education provider will have no problem disclosing their full list of credits and certifications. If not, there is a strong chance that the institution isn't accredited, and that you will get no benefits from the courses they provide.
Trait #2: Instructor Reputation
Another important thing that you, as a physician, need to look for in your continuing education provider is the reputation(s) of the instructors. Where did they go to school? Have they won any awards? How long have they been teaching for? But most of all, make sure that at the very least, they are licensed healthcare professionals with accreditation in the course(s) that they are teaching.
Trait #3: Course Selection
As mentioned above, there are more than a few different areas in which physicians can take their continuing education courses. However, a proper continuing education provider will also have a wide variety of courses in each of these areas of instruction for the doctor to choose from. Different courses will provide different benefits, and a lack of choices in courses often indicate that the school isn't one of the best.
Trait #4: Professional and Proper Presentation
It is not enough for a course geared towards medical professionals to be chock full of facts. Rather, the facts need to be presented in a clear and concise way. Moreover, the course materials should be of the best quality -- remember, these courses are meant to be geared to doctors, who are amongst the brightest minds in the country and, indeed, the world. This means that above all else, professionalism is a must.
Trait #5: Cost
This one is a little bit trickier to discern. On one hand, it is always nice to save money. On the other, you get what you pay for. More to the point: continuing education for doctors isn't meant to be cheap, because it's some of the best quality education you will ever pay for. With all of that said, however, it is important that the cost of the course is reflective, not only of the production quality, but of the quality of the information being proffered.
