Translating learning into practice.

Y ou may have noticed that, at the end of the FPM CME quiz, we always ask, “Has anything you have read in the last few issues of FPM led you to change anything in your practice?” It’s gratifying to see that about 80 percent of respondents say yes, because we always strive to publish articles that have direct practical application and include tools that make implementation easier. Given FPM’s practical bent, it’s particularly appropriate for the journal to take part in the AAFP’s pilot of a new type of CME credit called Translation to Practice CME. The point of this new type of credit is to help bridge the gap between learning and practice that research has identified as a problem of much conventional CME. In the pilot, AAFP members can now earn credit not just for reading FPM and taking the quiz but for putting what they learn into practice. Take this issue: If you’re an AAFP member or FPM subscriber, you can earn 3.5 Prescribed credits for reading the issue, but then, if you’re a member, you can go on to earn 2 more Prescribed credits for putting one idea from this issue into practice – all free of charge. Here’s how it works: To earn the Translation to Practice credit, you’ll need to take the CME quiz online at http://www.aafp.org/fpmquiz – not using the quiz card you will have received if you subscribe to FPM in print. When you finish the online quiz and submit your answers for your Prescribed credits, you will have an opportunity to learn more about Translation to Practice CME. If you choose to go on, you’ll start a three-step process: 1. Describe the change you intend to implement by submitting a “commitment-to-change statement” right after finishing the quiz. 2. Log out and go put the change into practice – or try. If it works, great! If it doesn’t work, you will still have learned something in the process; you’ll get credit anyway, as long as you complete step 3. 3. Reflect on the experience and report on the results. After a month, and again after three months if need be, you’ll receive an e-mail from the AAFP reminding you of your commitment-to-change statement and asking you to respond with a description of the change you made and how it worked. Respond to either of the reminder messages to receive credit. How can you lose? Improve your practice and get extra credit to boot. Translating Learning Into Practice EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Robert L. Edsal