Educational Technologies for Physician Continuous Professional Development: A National Survey

PURPOSE: To determine the past experiences with, current use of, and anticipated use of online learning and simulation-based education among practicing U.S. physicians, and how findings vary by age. METHOD: The authors surveyed 4,648 randomly sampled board-certified U.S. physicians, September 2015 to April 2016, using Internet-based and paper questionnaires. Survey items (some optional) addressed past and current technology usage, perceived technology effectiveness, and anticipated future use of specific technology innovations. RESULTS: Of 988 respondents, 444 completed optional items. Of these, 429/442 (97.1%) had used online learning and 372/442 (84.2%) had used simulation-based education in the past five years. Desire for more online learning was modest (mean standard deviation, 4.6 1.5; 1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree), as was desire for more simulation-based education (4.2 1.7). Both online learning and simulation-based education were perceived as effective (5.2 1.4; 5.0 1.4). Physicians believed they possess adequate skills for online learning (5.8 1.2) and that point-of-care learning is vital to effective patient care (5.3 1.3). Only 39.0% used objective performance data to guide their learning choices, although 64.6% agreed that such information would be useful. The highest-rated innovations included a central repository for listing educational opportunities and tracking continuing education credits, an app to award credit for answering patient-focused questions, 5-minute and 20-minute clinical updates, and an e-mailed "question of the week." Responses to most survey items were similar across age groups. CONCLUSIONS: Practicing physicians generally seem receptive and prepared to use a variety of educational technologies, regardless of age.