INTRODUCTION: Continuing medical education (CME) is a requirement in many developed countries. Lebanon lacks such a rule; hence, the dictum "once a doctor always a doctor" holds. This article describes a pioneering postgraduate educational program for primary care physicians in remote areas of Lebanon. METHOD: The Lebanese Society of Family Medicine introduced a 2-year structured CME program to four remote Lebanese areas. Thirteen family physicians provided 33 activities to 1,073 primary care physicians tackling 22 subjects chosen from a list of 53 common clinical problems approved by community medical leaders. Each attendee was requested to complete an evaluation form at the end of each session. RESULTS: The activities were attended by 1,073 physicians, 914 of whom filled out the evaluation forms (85.2% response rate). The analysis of the response of the attendees revealed that 65% of the attendees completely agreed that they benefited from the activities, 68% completely agreed that the presentations were clear, 86% thought that the methods used were adequate, 57% agreed completely that the presenters were prepared, and 69% replied that enough time was available for interaction. DISCUSSION: The CME programs were conducted with minimal costs. They were well received by attendees. It is recommended that the Lebanese health authorities make CME a requirement to promote the knowledge and behavior of primary care physicians and improve health.
INTRODUCTION: Continuing medical education (CME) is a requirement in many developed countries. Lebanon lacks such a rule; hence, the dictum "once a doctor always a doctor" holds. This article describes a pioneering postgraduate educational program for primary care physicians in remote areas of Lebanon. METHOD: The Lebanese Society of Family Medicine introduced a 2-year structured CME program to four remote Lebanese areas. Thirteen family physicians provided 33 activities to 1,073 primary care physicians tackling 22 subjects chosen from a list of 53 common clinical problems approved by community medical leaders. Each attendee was requested to complete an evaluation form at the end of each session. RESULTS: The activities were attended by 1,073 physicians, 914 of whom filled out the evaluation forms (85.2% response rate). The analysis of the response of the attendees revealed that 65% of the attendees completely agreed that they benefited from the activities, 68% completely agreed that the presentations were clear, 86% thought that the methods used were adequate, 57% agreed completely that the presenters were prepared, and 69% replied that enough time was available for interaction. DISCUSSION: The CME programs were conducted with minimal costs. They were well received by attendees. It is recommended that the Lebanese health authorities make CME a requirement to promote the knowledge and behavior of primary care physicians and improve health.
Authors: Belinda O'Sullivan; Bruce Chater; Amie Bingham; John Wynn-Jones; Ian Couper; Nagwa Nashat Hegazy; Raman Kumar; Henry Lawson; Viviana Martinez-Bianchi; Sankha Randenikumara; James Rourke; Sarah Strasser; Paul Worley Journal: Front Med (Lausanne) Date: 2020-11-27