title: Levels of continuing veterinary medical education program evaluation: assessing a course on dairy reproductive management.
abstract: There are four different levels of continuing education program evaluation: participant perceptions of the program or course; participant competence with new skills, knowledge, and abilities; participant performance or change in behavior; and health care or client outcomes, such as resultant changes in patient care or herd/flock production performance. The purpose of this article is to describe different levels of evaluation and demonstrate some methods used in evaluating a continuing veterinary medical education (CVME) course in dairy reproductive management. Participants' learning needs were assessed using learning stage theory and a pre-test of knowledge. Post-program assessments included a test of knowledge, a satisfaction survey, a commitment to change, and self-reported behavior change. The results of the evaluation indicate that self-reports of learning needs do not necessarily reflect actual needs and that satisfaction with a course does not necessarily indicate behavior change. Providers of CVME must recognize the value of program evaluation, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of different evaluation methods.
authors.affiliation: University of California-Davis, VMTRC, 18830 Rd 112, Tulare, CA 93274 USA. dmoore@vmtrc.ucdavis.edu
authors.forename: Dale A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Moore
authors.forename: Robert O
authors.initials: RO
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Thatcher
authors.forename: Jose Eduardo
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Michael W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Overton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D003612:Dairying; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing; D004520:Education, Veterinary; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012098:Reproduction