12 tips for developing Educational Conferences for Physicians

The education of a physician is a life-long process that starts in medical school and extends throughout their career. Healthcare is a dynamic field characterized by continuous advancements in medicine, evolving treatment options, changing regulations, care models, and technology. Physicians must keep up-to-date with new practices, procedures, medications, and diseases and fulfill the educational requirements to maintain their medical licensure. Continuing education for physicians serves the essential purpose of nurturing lifelong learning, ensuring that medical practices align with the latest standards, and ultimately enhancing the quality of patient care and outcomes. In a broader context, physician education encompasses all activities designed to enhance skills, professional performance, and relationships that physicians employ to provide services to patients and the public and to improve collaborations within the field. This paper outlines a step-by-step plan for designing high-quality educational conferences for practicing physicians in any field. It aims to assist in developing ongoing education, aligning physician practices with the latest medical care standards, and optimizing their clinical performance to improve patient and community health.


Introduction
Throughout a physician's career, healthcare is continuously changing (Thompson, 2014).With advances and updates in medicine, treatment options, guidelines and regulations, models of care, and technology, physicians must stay abreast of these changes, not only for the care and safety of their patients, but to maintain licensure and certifications.(HealthStream, 2021).This can be accomplished through physician continuing education, which facilitates lifelong learning to enhance their skills, knowledge, and performance, build stronger interdisciplinary relationships, and increase patient communications and outcomes (VanNieuwenborg et al., 2016).
Following are 12 tips for developing strong medical education programs to ensure that physicians and healthcare providers are current with medical knowledge and obtain the credits necessary to maintain their medical licensure.This guide was developed by physician educators based on office procedures and accreditation compliance, to assist planners of medical education and professional development activities.The steps do not need to happen in this specific order and should serve as a guide to developing physician educational activities.

Tip 1
Design the gap analysis When developing physician education, it is essential to identify the problem or professional practice gap to be addressed.The difference between current and ideal performance and/or outcomes is known as the professional practice gap.The problem can address anything in healthcare that relates to a physician's knowledge, competence, or performance, to patient outcomes, or non-clinical issues such as wellness, coding/billing, and faculty development.Once the problem is identified, determine the ideal performance and/or outcome is.To do this, ask what the physician needs to learn or do differently to close the gap.Once this step is complete, you can craft the learning objectives.When doing so, ask what will the learner be able to do as a result of attending the activity.These are learning objectives that link to the educational need and should be achievable and measurable.Using the information gathered, identify the desired results that reflect how the learner can implement the education/information into clinical practice.Table 1 shows an example of a planning tool used to collect and plan an educational activity.

Tip 2
Choose a planning committee Consider having a diverse and interprofessional representation of stakeholders interested in the education being developed.The individuals should provide expertise on choosing the best topics to cover and speakers who will deliver the content.This group will assist with developing the educational need, and designing goals and learning objectives, and providing input regarding the budget, and assessment.

Tip 3
Define your target audience Who should attend this activity?This is the target audience.The target audience can be as broad or as specific as you'd like, but should have a direct interest in the educational content.While physicians are your primary focus, additional audiences, such as advanced practice providers, nurses, and allied health professionals, should be welcomed with the understanding that the content was developed to meet the target audience's needs, ensure you communicate the intended audience with the speakers so the content is appropriately developed and delivered (Bowser, 2015).For instance, after reviewing patient feedback, physicians have received low marks regarding their bedside manners.Plan an activity focused on interpersonal and communication core competencies.If the event addresses improving patient diagnosis, management and treatment, the activity will align with patient care (Eno et al., 2020).

Tip 6
Develop the agenda Based on the gap analysis, learning objectives, and target audience, describe the content that should be covered to narrow the identified professional gap.The planning committee should choose topics that will meet the activity's learning objectives.When building the agenda, remember to add time for question and answer sessions, breaks, meals, reflection, and evaluation.For long, full day conferences, vary the delivery method to hold the learner's interest.Content can be delivered by didactic lectures, panel discussions, simulations, and hands-on workshops.

Tip 7 Confirm faculty
To determine the most appropriate speaker to deliver the content, research experts familiar with the clinical practice issues and problems related to the field(s) being addressed.Choose speaker based on the specifically determined criteria that will fulfill the educational needs of the target audience.The potential instructor should be highly regarded by the medical community.It is essential to review their curriculum vitae and, if available, any previously recorded lectures.
Within the formal invitation, communicate the target audience, the educational need, and the learning objectives.

Tip 8
Assessing potential barriers When developing educational activities, plan for potential barriers and have alternative options.Expense and time have been identified as the most common barriers to obtaining continuing education (Pott et al., 2021).Other barriers to consider are staffing or institutional restrictions and convenience regarding time of day and/or location.One example of adapting to barriers would be pivoting to the design of online learning for physicians during the pandemic when in-person gatherings were prohibited.

Tip 9 Create a budget
Determine what the financial goal of the activity is.List all possible expenses to help determine the registration fees and how much is needed from outside support, including educational grants and exhibitor fees.The following are just a few fees to consider when developing the budget: honorarium, travel, accreditation costs, venue, food and beverage, and marketing the event.

Tip 10
Promote the activity Develop a marketing timeline and itemized budget to help stay on track.Analyse the demographics of the intended audience to help determine the promotional methods.Consider electronic or physical mailings, whether to purchase a mailing list, and what social media platforms to use, if any.

Tip 11
Evaluate and measure change The goal of continuing education to close the professional gap.
It is an essential to measure change in physician knowledge, competence, performance, and patient outcomes.There are several ways to measure change,; pre-and post-tests and subjective evaluations and feedback are a couple of examples.Make sure you choose a method that best measures the learning objectives and outcomes, and, when possible, provides feedback to the physician to reinforce their learning.

Tip 12
Debrief A step that can often be forgotten, but is critical to developing education, is debriefing.Debriefing allows for reflection among the planning committee where they can discuss strengths, weaknesses, learner evaluation and feedback, and discuss future changes to improve the learning activity and/or outcomes.It is a vital step for improving performance and clinical outcomes.Debriefing is intended to boost critical thinking and advance future clinical practice and improve future educational activities (Institute for Healthcare Improvement, 2021).

Limitations and conclusion
It is critical to provide quality physician education that is dynamic and engaging to ensure that medical care provided  The strength of these 12 tips lie in their capacity to assist physician educators, either in a stepwise fashion (1 through 12) or else to draw upon only those tips which apply to their project.Each tip discusses an important subject within the goals of physician education: designing the "gap analysis" (Tip 1); identifying the requisite "core competencies (Tip 5); examining financial needs (Tip 9); and quantifying/measuring change (Tip 11).
Drs. McCoy and Fore-Arcand have supported their proposed tips with pertinent literature.The paragraph on Limitations wisely recognizes barriers to physician education, including "time constraints, cost, industry, influence, impact assessment, and limited interactivity," impediments that physician educators face on a daily basis, project to project.This paragraph to me represents a clear-eyed recognition of barriers to limitations that will help physician educators build more robust projects.
I don't have any specific advice for how to improve upon Drs.McCoy 's and Fore-Arcand's paper.I feel it answers questions existing within physician education and helps to guide physician educators with practical advice and examples.Their Table 1, for instance, is an excellent means for outlining plans for an educational activity.I applaud its succinct and eminently practical format.I wish Drs.McCoy and Fore-Arcand the best and would be happy to answer any questions my peer review raises.Thank you for this opportunity, Dr. Peirce Johnston, MD

Is the topic of the practical tips discussed accurately in the context of the current literature Yes
Are all factual statements correct and adequately supported by citations?McCoy and Fore-Arcand provide 12 general tips for developing physician education.These tips are easy to read and important to consider when approached with developing physician education.To make the paper stronger, the reviewers recommend identifying the goal of the paper and the specified audience with greater detail.The paper "outlines a step-by-step plan for designing highquality education programs for physicians", but in what context?Academic, private, community programs?All specialties?The audience appears to be physicians, but the introduction includes "other health care providers".The tips are practical yet not specific.Tip 1 should describe "SMART" objectives with the appropriate references.Table 1 provides a good example of a planning tool, but the learning objectives are vague and, thus, the desired results are vague and are unable to be quantified.One of the greatest difficulties with CME education and implementation is the ability to confirm that the knowledge was received, and that the physician behavior reflects the new information.Describing methods to assess the backend of educational initiatives for knowledge implementation into healthcare, would be beneficial.Updated references would be welcome for each tip.

Grammatical:
Please revise this sentence within Tip 1 for grammar and flow: "Once the problem is identified, determine the ideal performance and/or outcome is." Tip 7: "Choose speakers based on the specifically determined criteria that will fulfill the educational needs of the target audience." Tip 11: "The goal of continuing education is to close the professional gap." Although Table 1 is a good addition to this practical brief paper, the reviewers recommend an example of a full Tip 1-12 idea for the reader's benefit.
Thank you for allowing us to review this manuscript.

©
2024 W. Johnston P.This is an open access peer review report distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Peirce W. Johnston University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, USA Drs.McCoy and Fore-Arcand have proposed tips for educators to improve medical Their 12 tips itemize and describe articulate & well-reasoned steps for medical educators to "stay abreast of [healthcare] changes......to enhance their skills, knowledge, and performance." the topic of the practical tips discussed accurately in the context of the current literature Partly Are all factual statements correct and adequately supported by citations?Partly Are arguments sufficiently supported by evidence from the published literature and/or the authors' practice?Partly If evidence from practice is presented, are all the underlying source data available to ensure full reproducibility?Not applicable Are the conclusions drawn balanced and justified on the basis of the presented arguments?Partly

Table 1 . An example of a planning tool used to collect and plan an educational activity. Professional Practice Gap Educational Needs Designed to Change Learning Objectives Desired Results
For instance, when developing a Morbidity and Mortality educational activity, consider designing a case discussion that encourages interprofessional team members involved in the case to address and address what went well and where improvements can be made and identify steps to reduce future mistakes.If developing a skills-based activity, a simulated environment might be the most appropriate method so learners can obtain hands-on instruction, practice techniques, and receive feedback.
5 Identify core competencies Core competencies will help you categorize what type of change the learner can expect from attending the activity.Some examples of competencies are patient care, professionalism, interpersonal and communication, and quality improvement.

Peer Review Current Peer Review Status: Version 1
to learn can be rewarding.Continuing education facilitates life-long learning for physicians to provide the best medical care to their patients.Future planning for physician education might address changes to state and national guidelines, pharmaceutical updates, and quality and safety topics such as initiatives and best practices, and should consider accreditation compliance, when necessary.
ReferencesBiddle S, Huffman B: Continuing medical education handbook: A resource for CME practices.The Upjohn Company.Kalamazoo, Michigan, 1994.Bowser AD: Generational Shift in the Physician Workforce: What are the implications for CME?A clinical care options (CCO) white paper.2015; (accessed 2022 Sept 22).Reference Source Eno C, Correa R, Stewart NH, et al.: ACGME Milestones guidebook for residents and fellows.Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (AGCME), 2020; 2-4.Reference Source HealthStream: The Value of Lifelong Learning Throughout a Healthcare Career.2021; (accessed 2022 Sept 28).Reference Source Institute for Healthcare Improvement: Linking Quality, Safety, and Wellness Through Health Care Debriefing.2021; (accessed 2022 Sept 20).Reference Source Pott MO, Blanshan AS, Huneke KM, et al.: Barriers to identifying and obtaining CME: A national survey of physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.BMC Med Educ.2021; 21(1): 168.PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text | Free Full Text Sangarlangkarn A, Yamada Y, Ko FC: HIV and Aging: Overcoming challenges in existing HIV guidelines to provide patient-centered care for older people with HIV.Pathogens.2021; 10(10): 1332.PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text | Free Full Text Thompson AE: A physician's education continues throughout his or her entire career.JAMA.2014; 312(22): 2456.Reference Source VanNieuwenborg L, Goossens M, De Lepeleire J, et al.: Continuing medical education for general practitioners: a practice format.Postgrad Med J. 2016; 92(1086): 217-222.PubMed Abstract | Publisher Full Text | Free Full Text https://doi.org/10.21956/mep.21317.r35834

Yes Are arguments sufficiently supported by evidence from the published literature and/or the authors' practice? Yes If evidence from practice is presented, are all the underlying source data available to ensure full reproducibility? Not applicable Are the conclusions drawn balanced and justified on the basis of the presented arguments? Yes Competing Interests:
No competing interests were disclosed.

have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard. Anne M. Messman Department
of Emergency Medicine, University Health Center-6G, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA This article presents 12 general recommendations aimed at those that would be planning a continuing education session for physicians.The tips are general and somewhat helpful, although seem targeted towards those that would be planning a larger educational intervention, specifically one with funding, not really for an intervention that would be performed on a smaller scale.It would be helpful if the title and abstract reflected this.Specific thoughts/recommendations are below: Tip 8 -an overlooked area that the authors should address is ensure that the activity is accessible to all learners, including those with disabilities.Tip 11 -multiple grammatical errors (first sentence should say "The goal of continuing education is to..." rather than "The goal of continuing education to..."; second sentence should say "It is essential..." rather than "It is an essential..."; third sentence has both a comma and a semicolon next to each other, need to get rid of comma).

the topic of the practical tips discussed accurately in the context of the current literature Yes Are all factual statements correct and adequately supported by citations? Yes Are arguments sufficiently supported by evidence from the published literature and/or the authors' practice? Yes If evidence from practice is presented, are all the underlying source data available to ensure full reproducibility? Not applicable Are the conclusions drawn balanced and justified on the basis of the presented arguments? Yes Competing Interests:
No competing interests were disclosed.

confirm that I have read this submission and believe that I have an appropriate level of expertise to confirm that it is of an acceptable scientific standard, however I have significant reservations, as outlined above.
https://doi.org/10.21956/mep.21317.r35836Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, Roanoke, VA, USA