Determining continuing medical education curricula for general practitioners--a survey of self-perceived needs.

Determining the curriculum content of continuing medical education programmes is an important, but problematic element of all programme planning in continuing professional education. Surveying the participants' (self-perceived) needs has the advantage over most other methods in guaranteeing accompanying high levels of learner motivation because of perceived relevance. A study of 474 general practitioners' perceived needs of five general topic areas of continuing medical education is reviewed, showing the degrees of interest in the eighty-seven topics and the ways in which such results can be utilised in future educational planning.