Foundations of Continuing Education

Advancing the Global CME/CPD Agenda:A Collaborative Approach

CRAIG CAMPBELL, MD, FRCPC

Key Words: education, medical, global, continuing, physician migration, continuing professional development

Globally, the development of continuing professional de-velopment ~CPD! or continuing medical education ~CME!systems for physicians faces common challenges in en-hancing physician learning, promoting educational stan-dards, and implementing effective approaches to assessmentand evaluation. These challenges are driven, in part, bythe high mobility of physicians and increasing opportuni-ties for them to participate in a wide variety of learningactivities, including Web-based accredited CPD0CME. Chal-lenges in advancing a global CPD0CME agenda are fea-tured in four perspectives: South Africa, Australasia, theUnited Kingdom, and Singapore. Individual presentations

focus on the need to enhance the implementation and over-all effectiveness of continuing professional development ac-creditation systems and to address issues of culturaldiversity, geographic and professional isolation of physi-cians, and professional career development, as well as strat-egies to promote increased participation in voluntary andmandatory CPD0CME systems. Each presentation describessolutions considered or pursued. Collectively, these fourperspectives identify potential opportunities and the needfor a global dialogue to share strategies, tools, and solu-tions that enhance collaboration and excellence in CME0CPD throughout the world.

Disclosures: The author reports none.

Dr. Campbell: Director, Office of Professional Affairs, The Royal Collegeof Physicians and Surgeons of Canada; Co-Chair, CME Congress 2008.

Correspondence: Craig Campbell, The Royal College of Physicians andSurgeons of Canada, 774 Echo Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada K1S 5N8;e-mail: ccampbell@rcpsc.edu.

© 2008 The Alliance for Continuing Medical Education, the Society forAcademic Continuing Medical Education, and the Council on CME,Association for Hospital Medical Education. • Published online in WileyInterScience ~www.interscience.wiley.com!. DOI: 10.10020chp.204

JOURNAL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS, 28(S1):S24, 2008