title: Physician preferences for educational media.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Although educational media have expanded in variety, information on physicians' preferences for types of educational media remains limited.
  
  
  METHODS
  An assessment form was distributed to 14 medical societies evaluating their members' medical education media preferences and society antimicrobial-resistance educational offerings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  These 14 medical societies represent 349,685 physicians. All supported educational offerings, most frequently as professional meetings, followed by audiotapes, computer programs, Internet sites, or print-based self-study materials. Only 5 (36%) societies had measured how many members used their educational offerings. Eight (57%) societies had made antimicrobial resistance an educational priority for their medical societies. Antimicrobial treatment was the most commonly offered educational topic on antimicrobial resistance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These 14 medical societies help to educate over one half the practicing US physicians. However, less than one half of the societies knew how many of their members used the educational materials they offered, or how their members would prefer to obtain medical education. Understanding how physicians want to obtain medical information potentially could improve the delivery of medical knowledge to physicians.
authors.affiliation: Hospital Infections Program, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: T L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: R L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Sinkowitz-Cochran
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Jarvis
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D019212:Multimedia; D010820:Physicians; D012955:Societies, Medical