General Practitioner's Views toward Quality of Continuing Medical Education Programs in Tabriz

Learning about the viewpoints of participants on different aspects of continuing medical education programs is of great importance. The aim of this study was to determine general practitioners’ views toward quality of these programs. In this cross-sectional descriptive study, the survey population included 267general practitioners selected from among participants of CME programs in Tabriz University of Medical Sciences from October 2010 to March 2011 using convenience sampling method. The data collection tool was a researcher-made questionnaire. After confirming the validity and reliability of the questionnaire, data was collected and then analyzed. Findings showed that 64.8 % of participants were male and 92.1 % had experienced continuing education programs before. 62.9% of physicians rated the program success rate high and very high in providing up-to-date knowledge for physicians. 74.5% indicated that instructors had shown respect and rated their conduct high and very high. According to 41.2%, the possibility of sharing participants’ experiences in discussions was low and very low. A sum of 79.8% pointed out that a need for planning CME programs based on common public health and treatment problems is high and very high. Applying new teaching methods and encouraging participation of physicians in planning and implementation of programs and continuous needs assessment is felt essential to improve the educational programs.