Research in continuing medical education. An historical review

✍ Scribed by Stephen Abrahamson

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1984
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 482 KB
• Volume: 4
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0894-1912
• DOI: 10.1002/chp.4760040405

✦ Synopsis

%is paper includes an historical review of continuing medical education in the United

States, covering the period from 1909, when the "Blackburn Plan" appeared to the post-World War-I/ era, characterized by proliferation of courses and advances in Instructional Technol-

om. In addition, the author traces the evolution of continuing medical education and provides a reminder of two prior studies that reviewed evaluation research in continuing medical education.

eing asked to present a paper on the history B of any topic represents a good example of the good-news/bad-news phenomenon. On the one hand, it is certainly good news to be invited to present one's views: others, apparently, believe that you have something to "offer." On the other hand, the bad news is that others consider you to be a good source of an historical review -either by virtue of your special scholarship and/or historical perspective or by virtue of your having lived through the period under study! It is the latter, I fear, that has directly contributed to the invitation to me to prepare this paper since I never mastered the highly skilled techniques of historiography-and indeed, history was always my worst subject throughout my lurid academic career.

Be that as it may, the assignment did turn out to be challenging and satisfying since it was possible to treat the subject as a personal tourde-force and to organize it, thus, quite personally.