DETERMINANTS OF CHOICE OF CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN: ANALYSIS OF PHYSICIANS’ PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Abstract. Transformations of the system of higher and postgraduate education in Ukraine encourage educational institutions to update their approaches to promoting their educational product. Previous studies have investigated targets for the duration and format of training, given an overall assessment of the importance of factors in choosing the form of CME; have identified features of users, who are ready and are not ready to pay for training independently, and key factors in choosing the form of CME. Also, the segmentation of users was carried out. In a new phase of the study, physicians were asked to evaluate additional factors that influence the choice of form of CME.

New factors of the choice of the educational cycle are determined: modern subjects of the course (14.2 % of respondents), the possibility of improving practical skills (8.6 %), duration of training (4.1 %), convenient design of materials (4.1 %), etc. Statistically significant relationships have been established between previously proposed and self-determined factors, in particular between the presence of previous experience of studying at the department and interest in modern equipment, the number of CME points obtained and the duration of training; the need to travel to another city and the number of CME points obtained and the absence of promotion of medicines or services. The analysis also showed that the factor of convenient design of materials belongs to the sphere of the factor of efficiency of the educational cycle.

The new factors complement the validity of the four-factor model proposed by the authors, which provides a focus on the result or process, as the main motivating determinant of the choice of the form of CME. The identified factors should be taken into account during the preparation of information materials about training cycles.