Extramural continuing medical education.

The experience of one Faculty of Medicine in developing programs of continuing medical education in community hospitals is presented. After mention of the importance of regular reading of the medical literature, and the problems created by its growing volume, the necessity of supplementary programs in community hospitals is pointed out. The different patterns of community hospital meetings that evolved to meet various circumstances in the Atlantic Provinces are detailed. A "course" consisting of six weekly evening meetings, followed by morning case presentations and discussions, has proved the most successful form of continuing medical education in community hospitals. Better than half the doctors in the community attend, and active participation is the rule. The importance of advance planning, the techniques of advance planning, and the expense of operating the program are listed. A projection is made that 46 such courses would be required to cover the four Atlantic Provinces adequately, with a staff equivalent to eight full-time teachers and a budget in excess of $200,000. The fact that this is only 7.5% of Canada's medical population indicates the magnitude of the unmet needs of continuing medical education in this country.