Factors in the Participation of Ecuador’s Family Physicians in Continuing Medical Education Programs

Abstract

Introduction: Continuing Medical Education (CME) is the stage of education in which a physician receives training after completing his basic instruction or any additional study. As an educational tool, the CME allows for the development of various levels of learning (informative, formative and transformative) by medical professionals.

Objective: To identify the conditioning factors for participation in Continuing Medical Education programs in a group of family doctors in Ecuador.

Methodology: Quantitative research was carried out with a descriptive, trans-sectional design based on a structured survey with closed answers sent by e-mail. The questions were aimed at identifying factors related to participation in CME programs. 82 family doctors from Ecuador participated. The results were tabulated in the SPSS statistical program, contingency tables were used for the relationship of variables, and chi square was applied.

Results: The factors that showed a statistically significant relationship with the participation in some CME program were: satisfaction (p <0.05), and the fact that in the workplace they facilitate access to these programs (p = 0.001). Other factors studied did not show statistically significant differences.

Conclusions: The participation of family doctors in CME programs is affected by both internal and external factors: the satisfaction of participating and access to employment, respectively. This reflects the vestiges of traditional education. Educational institutions need to reorient their training programs in order to allow progress towards new models of learning.