Continuing Medical Education in Vietnam: A Weighted Analysis from Healthcare Professionals' Perception and Evaluation

Purpose: Continuing medical education (CME) is a compulsory requirement for every health professional. However, to date, little is known about the effectiveness of CME in Vietnam. This study assessed CME programs based on attendees' perception and evaluation. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted during a five-month period in all 62 CME courses at a university hospital. A self-report, anonymous questionnaire was distributed to the participants during the course and was collected at the end of the course. The questionnaire included questions about demographic characteristics, experiences during the course and participants' perception and evaluation as measured by the 19-item Program Evaluation Instrument (PEI). A higher score on the PEI indicates a higher level of positive reaction toward CME programs. Results: Among 1312 participants in the analysis, the majority were females (58.1%) with a mean age of 34.5 (SD = 10.6) years. Almost all participants had good, positive perceptions toward CME. However, about 5% of participants reported CME a waste of time. Participants reported a high score on the PEI (95.0 +/- 8.9) and all four dimensions including program objectives (20.7 +/- 2.2), learner's objectives (18.8 +/- 2.3), teacher's behavior (25.7 +/- 2.7) and program satisfaction (29.7 +/- 3.4). While there was no association between demographic characteristics and PEI score, attendance rate during the courses and perceptions toward CME were positively associated with PEI score. Conclusion: CME programs receive positive reaction and evaluation from healthcare professionals and are helpful in providing and updating knowledge, attitude and practice in Vietnam. However, further studies are needed in other settings and specialties to fully understand the effectiveness of CME in Vietnam.