Continuing Education Materials

	Research study cited in continuing education materials.

Continuing education programs are defined by the National Library of Medicine as educational programs designed to inform individuals of recent advances in their particular field of interest. They do not lead to any formal advanced standing. Some continuing education materials include references to research studies to promote understanding of diagnosis, treatment and therapies for a condition, and as part of recommended and/or background readings in the literature.

One example of a research study noted in continuing education material is from the Optometric Study Center issued by the Review of Optometry. Current modules are listed and expired modules are archived on the Review of Optometry website. In July 2007, the Review of Optometry issued a module titled, 13th Annual Glaucoma Report: Calculate the Risk Factors For Glaucoma which noted the clinical significance of the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS), citing:

. . . the Ocular Hypertension Treatment Study (OHTS) and other studies published during the last decade have fundamentally changed how we diagnose and manage glaucoma, and have helped us to identify such risks. In past years, we diagnosed open-angle glaucoma based on elevated intraocular pressure (IOP), visible optic nerve damage and correlated visual field loss. These studies, however, offer a better understanding about how glaucoma manifests itself, what early changes occur in the optic nerve and how those changes affect visual fields. In other words, these studies have helped us identify some of the varied risk factors associated with glaucoma.

Assessment

Check the website of the specialty society or professional organization for continuing education materials for the specific medical specialty of the disease, condition or disorder. Review of continuing education materials is required to locate evidence that findings from a research study were used as support to promote understanding of diagnosis, treatment and therapies for a condition, and as part of recommended and/or background readings in the literature. Contact with policy-makers may be required in order to confirm that findings from a research study resulted in new or revised continuing education materials.

	Search using the keywords; title of the research study; the disease, disorder or condition; the specific medical specialty of the disease, disorder or condition; name of the primary investigator/s; and/or “continuing education” as a search query.

Some resources that may be helpful in locating continuing education materials include the following:

Google

Google allows for searching of continuing education materials and retrieves results from a variety of sources.

Yahoo!

Yahoo! allows for searching of continuing education materials and retrieves results from a variety of sources.

 

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Last updated: April 27, 2009