A survey of continuing medical education and continuing professional development systems in China
10.3760/cma.j.cn116021-20250520-02114
- VernacularTitle:我国继续医学教育与持续职业发展现状调查
- Author:
Daya YANG
1
;
Jiaxin LIU
;
Kunsong ZHANG
;
Shaoting FENG
;
Wenjie HU
;
Ming KUANG
Author Information
1. 中山大学附属第一医院心血管医学部心内一科，广州 510080
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Continuing medical education;
Continuing professional development;
Questionnaire survey
- From:
Chinese Journal of Medical Education Research
2025;24(11):1466-1471
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
Objective:To investigate the characteristics of continuing medical education (CME) and continuing professional development (CPD) systems in China, the perceptions of health professionals regarding CME/CPD, and their views on the extent to which the current CME/CPD systems meet learning needs.Methods:A questionnaire survey method was employed. The Chinese version of the global CME/CPD questionnaire developed by the Association for Medical Education in Europe was used to conduct an online survey of 2 951 health professionals across 32 provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the central government in mainland China from 2020 to 2021. The survey results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and content analysis.Results:Among the 2 951 respondents, internal medicine practitioners accounted for the highest proportion (664, 22.50%), and 2 050 (69.47%) of the respondents were located in the eastern region. In the past 12 months, 1 489 (50.46%) respondents participated in 11-30 hours of CME/CPD, and 2 406 (81.53%) considered that the existing activities met their learning needs. There were statistically significant differences ( P<0.05) in the learning needs for CME/CPD, participation in educational training and interprofessional continuing education, and satisfaction with industry-supported CME/CPD among health professionals with different years of practice. Conclusions:Health professionals in China have a high level of participation in CME/CPD. There are differences in their familiarity and satisfaction with the current systems. It is recommended to enhance the promotion of the CME/CPD systems, optimize the teaching content, improve education quality, and strengthen commercial interest regulation. These will better meet the learning needs of health professionals and promote high-quality development in medical education.
