Continuing Medical Education Delivery Preferences Among Physicians and Advanced Practice Providers in Emergency Medicine

Abstract

Study objective We investigate the continuing medical education delivery preferences among emergency medicine providers, both physicians and advanced practice providers (APPs), within a large, national emergency medicine group. Methods A survey was sent via email to all emergency medicine health care providers in the practice group, including questions evaluating both delivery method and topic preference for continuing education. The study was sent to providers whom the group employed from October 2019 through January 2020. Results A total of 2038 providers, 1373 physicians, and 665 APPs completed the survey - a completion rate of 68.7%. In general, practitioners expressed willingness to learn across various platforms, with a strong overall preference towards online and on-demand options, including video, podcast, and written materials. Universally, a larger percentage of APPs identified a desire for more continuing education across all topics than physicians. Conclusion Education preferences among emergency medicine providers vary with a strong trend toward online and on-demand content. Understanding the delivery and topic preferences for providers is important for the optimal creation of continuing education content.

Keywords: continuing medical education; education delivery; emergency medicine; medical education; provider education and collaboration.