In developing continuing medical education (CME) and continuing education (CE), it is important to understand the learning preferences of healthcare providers. As the Postgraduate Institute for Medicine’s (PIM’s) 2024 CME/CE Learner Preferences Survey shows, delivering education that is accessible, interactive, and grounded in the latest research is the key to achieving success with CME/CE.
Highlights of PIM’s 2024 CME/CE Learner Preferences Survey include:
- Of the 590 survey respondents, the main factor in choosing CME/CE is course topic/content, followed by course modality and amount of credit being offered.
- The 3 main topics that are of interest to clinician learners are updates to clinical guidelines, chronic condition management, and breaking clinical research.
- For preferred modality, live/virtual and live/in-person learning format are preferred, followed by online-video and podcasts.
The main respondents to PIM’s 2024 CME/CE Learner Preferences Survey (n=590) are physicians followed by nurses and pharmacists. The survey also included nurse practitioners, physician assistants, psychologists, social workers, and other healthcare professionals representing a wide variety of medical specialties.
PIM’s 2024 CME/CE Learner Preferences Survey also shows that learners prefer education that is developed by trusted sources, including associations, societies, and medical education companies with expertise in the subject matter. And just as in 2023, the 2024 survey showed that email is by far the main way healthcare providers receive CME/CE, although many also receive their education via direct mail and/or by visiting the website of a medical society or association.
A dominant theme in the open-ended comments was a preference for a live activity (whether in-person or live/virtual), which offers the possibility of asking questions, combined with access to a recording of the live activity as an enduring reference. Case-based learning, courses that offer MOC credits, and weekend webinars were also listed as preferred by learners. A smaller number of learners noted a preference for printed materials, including course invitations and pre-reading materials.
Quality education is a powerful tool in the effort to elevate our healthcare workforce and improve patient care. The results of PIM’s 2024 CME/CE Learner Preferences Survey provide a snapshot of the preferred methods and modalities for delivering such education and illuminates the evolution of those preferences over time.
Questions about the survey? Contact PIM at [email protected]
