Pan American Association of Ophthalmology (PAAO) Continuing Medical Education Online Program

Mission Statement

The mission of the Continuing Medical Education Online Program is to assist practicing ophthalmologists, ophthalmologists in training and other healthcare professionals in becoming lifelong learners.

We seek to sponsor evidence-based programming, based on sound principles of adult learning, and that will result in positive changes in their healthcare practice, finally improving the outcomes of their patients.

Content

PAAO´s CME online program includes a broad range of ophthalmology primary care, specialty and subspecialty topics chosen through a comprehensive needs assessment process. (1) The needs assessment process identifies "gaps" in physician knowledge, competence, performance, and behaviors, defined as differences between current practice and best practice. Continuing medical education content is chosen for its relevance to the target audience's current or potential scope of professional activities. CME activities are planned in the context of desirable physician attributes and core competencies to promote the dissemination of practice patterns of high quality and serve the best interests of the public. The content may extend to all domains related to medical practice and not limited only to medical knowledge. Multiple methods for needs assessments are used. (2)

Target audience

Practicing ophthalmologists, ophthalmologists in training and other healthcare professionals interested in ophthalmology

Types of activities (3) (4)

Synchronous activities: Webinars with multimedia presentations with high interactivity between presenters and participants.

Asynchronous online courses: Tutor-led courses with multimedia presentations, performance support documents, discussion forums, and practice activities.

In both cases, good practices of CPD/CME are followed.

Expected results

The desired expectation of the CME online program is to enhance the learners’ knowledge and their ability to apply knowledge to practice (i.e., competence).

To facilitate the measurement of expected results, learners are asked—via pre- and post-test, course evaluations, outcomes questionnaires, to critically evaluate key aspects of individual activities and how these activities met their needs.

Critical metrics for these assessments include one or more of the following but are not limited to:

• When indicated, changes in competence are measured using questionnaires at the end of an activity that determines if learners can apply knowledge learned to typical practice scenarios, including specific examples of strategies that learners intend to implement in their practice.
• When indicated, changes in performance-in-practice are measured also using questionnaires that determine if key intended results were actually implemented in practice.
• Learner feedback on PAAO application of key aspects of the Standards for Commercial Support, including if the activity was fair and balanced, free from commercial bias, and evidence-based.
• Aspects of the topic in which learners need more information in future CME activities.
• Through the assessment of the above data and metrics, PAAO determines the need for overall program improvements and implements them in a timely manner.

Credit system

PAAO will extend a CME certificate of 1 PAAO Category 1 credit for every hour of activity after the participants pass the activity assessment.

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1. Principles and Guidelines of a Curriculum for Continuing Medical Education in Ophthalmology. http://www.icoph.org/dynamic/attachments/resources/icocurriccme.pdf
2. Needs assessment guidelines from the Boonshoft School of Medicine.   https://medicine.wright.edu/continuing-medical-education/needs-assessment-guidelines 
3.  ICO Position Paper in CPD http://www.icoph.org/resources/318/ICO-Position-Paper-in-CPD.html
4.  ICO Guide to Effective CPD/CME eBook http://www.icoph.org/downloads/ICOGuidetoEffectiveCPDCME-PreviewEdition-March2015.pdf