title: Professional Development Perceptions and Practices Among U.S. Physicians: A Cross-Specialty National Survey.
abstract: Professional development (PD)-both for-credit continuing medical education (CME) and informal self-directed or point-of-care learning-is vital to all physicians. The authors sought to understand physicians' PD perceptions and practices and how these vary by specialty and practice type.
  
  
  
  The authors administered an Internet and paper survey, from September 2015 to April 2016, to randomly sampled U.S. physicians. Survey items addressed perceived PD needs and barriers and how physicians identify knowledge/skills gaps.
  
  
  
  Of 4,648 invitees, 988 (21.6%) responded. Respondents believed that they already know what they need to learn (mean 5.8 [1 = strongly disagree; 7 = strongly agree]), can answer clinical questions using available resources (5.9), and want credit for learning during patient care (5.1). They did not strongly desire help identifying learning gaps (4.0) or indicate difficulty accumulating CME credits (3.1). Most PD was done during personal time (5.5). Competencies regarding medical knowledge/skills, wellness, informatics, and practice/systems improvement were rated the highest priority, while research, teaching, and professionalism were rated the lowest. The most important sources used to identify knowledge/skills gaps were immediate patient care needs (4.1 [1 = not important; 5 = extremely important]), personal awareness (3.8), and practice updates (3.7). The most important barriers were time (3.5) and cost (2.9). Differences by specialty and practice type were generally small and not statistically significant.
  
  
  
  Physicians feel confident in identifying their own learning needs, perceive medical knowledge/skills as their highest-priority need, and desire more credit for learning during patient care.
authors.affiliation: D.A. Cook is professor of medicine and of medical education; associate director, Mayo Clinic Online Learning; director of research, Office of Applied Scholarship and Education Science; and consultant, Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, Minnesota. M.J. Blachman is clinical professor, Department of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science, and associate dean, Continuous Professional Development & Strategic Affairs, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, South Carolina. D.W. Price is senior vice president, American Board of Medical Specialties Research & Education Foundation, and executive director, American Board of Medical Specialties Multispecialty Portfolio Program, Chicago, Illinois, and professor of family medicine, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado. C.P. West is professor of medicine, of biostatistics, and of medical education; associate program director, Internal Medicine Residency Program; and consultant, Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, Minnesota. R.A. Berger is professor of orthopedics; dean, Mayo School of Continuous Professional Development; medical director, Mayo Clinic Online Learning; and consultant, Departments of Orthopedic Surgery and Anatomy, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, Minnesota. C.M. Wittich is associate professor of medicine; associate program director, Internal Medicine Residency Program; and practice chair, Division of General Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, Rochester, Minnesota.
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Morris J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Blachman
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Colin P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Berger
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Wittich
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003657:Decision Making; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States