Evaluation of Continuing Professional Development Program for Family Physicians

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the King Saud University Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program for Family Physicians in relation to the Convenience, Relevance, Individualization, Self-Assessment, Interest, Speculation and Systematic (CRISIS) criteria. METHODOLOGY A descriptive study was conducted at King Saud University (KSU) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The authors used the six strategies of Convenience, Relevance, Individualization, Self-Assessment, Interest, Speculation and Systematic (CRISIS) for evaluation. The program was independently analyzed by the three authors using CRISIS framework. The results were synthesized. The suggestions were discussed and agreed upon and documented. RESULTS The results indicate that KSU-CPD program meets the CRISIS criteria for effective continuing professional development and offers a useful approach to learning. The course content covers specific areas of practice, but some shortcomings were found that need to be improved like self assessment area and individual learning needs analysis. CONCLUSION This program is suitable for Family Physicians, as it is well planned and utilizes most of the principles of CRISIS, but there is still room for improvement. Designing a program for general practitioners using hybrid model that offers a blend of e-learning as well as face-to-face learning opportunities would be an ideal solution.