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Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development in the European Union

Evolution and Implications for Pharmaceutical Medicine

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Abstract

Continuing medical education (CME) and its broader term continuing professional development (CPD) are indispensable as part of lifelong learning and may be regarded as equally or more important than undergraduate and postgraduate medical education. Pharmaceutical medicine occupies common ground between the clinical and healthcare professions, pharmaceutical industry and government, and thus, the same principles are applicable. However, the global status of CME/CPD education in pharmaceutical medicine is alarming. Surveys conducted among pharmaceutical medicine associations from 22 countries and pharmaceutical physicians in the US showed that a relatively low number of CME/CPD activities are developed across countries, a high percentage of pharmaceutical physicians lack formal postgraduate education in pharmaceutical medicine and, additionally, training needs in basic knowledge areas were detected. It is evident that further education efforts are necessary. The CME system has many variations across countries. The CME/CPD model, including credits or hours, is the currency by which regulatory bodies often assess competence all over the world. Accreditation systems have been developed primarily in the US and Europe in an attempt to self-regulate and advance practice standards, as well as to respond to environmental pressures for advancement of healthcare quality and insulation of any commercial influence on education. Initiatives for a European and/or global CME harmonization have been developed. However, the major problem is that the various CME systems are very different and fragmented. In spite of the tremendous amount of resources spent on maintaining and upgrading physicians’ knowledge and skills, the effectiveness of CME in producing changes in practice has been questioned. It has been argued that CME programmes, as currently practiced, do not adequately focus on improving clinical performance and patient health outcomes. The emphasis is put on measuring acquired knowledge based on training hours, instead of assessing competences and skills as a result of professional development. A new CME/CPD outcomes-based model for performance improvement through individualized and standardized education has been proposed, including physician’s self-assessment, self-reflection and practice-based learning. PharmaTrain is a public private partnership sponsored by the EU’s Innovative Medicines Initiative including 24 universities, 13 learned societies/associations and several partner training organizations. PharmaTrain aims to provide courses that are designed to meet the needs of pharmaceutical physicians and other professionals working in medicines development (basic diploma, masters and CME/CPD). The PharmaTrain CPD platform will include diploma and master extension and elective modules, both course based and standalone, aimed to facilitate lifelong learning. The successful development and use of the PharmaTrain CPD platform provides a valuable new opportunity to meet the current standards and expectations for CME/CPD posed by stakeholders and society at large.

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Acknowledgements

Dr Bühler has received honoraria and grants from the European Commission and IMI PharmaTrain. Hervé Maisonneuve is employed by the University of Lyon, and is an associate of Wentz Miller Global Services, which provides consultancy on CME/CPD. Dr Miller has consulted with the European Society of Cardiology on their CME programme. The remaining authors have received no funding. All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are directly relevant to the content of this review.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Project Globe Consortium for Continuing Professional Development, New York, New York, USA

    Honorio Silva MD

  2. IMI PharmaTrain, c/o European Centre of Pharmaceutical Medicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland

    Fritz R. Bühler

  3. European Union of Medical Specialists — European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

    Bernard Maillet

  4. Claude Bernard University, Lyon, France

    Hervé Maisonneuve

  5. Global Alliance for Medical Education, New York, New York, USA

    Lewis A. Miller

  6. Foreign Committee, Italian Medical Societies, Milan, Italy

    Alfonso Negri

  7. School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, King’s College London, London, UK

    Peter D. Stonier

  8. 2004 Harmon Cove Towers, Secaucus, New Jersey, 07094, USA

    Honorio Silva MD

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  1. Honorio Silva MD
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  2. Fritz R. Bühler
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  3. Bernard Maillet
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  4. Hervé Maisonneuve
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  7. Peter D. Stonier
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Correspondence to Honorio Silva MD.

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Silva, H., Bühler, F.R., Maillet, B. et al. Continuing Medical Education and Professional Development in the European Union. Pharm Med 26, 223–233 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03262479

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