Continuing Medical Education

The Office of Continuing Medical Education provides educational activities to physicians and other health care professionals that reinforce basic medical knowledge; impart updated information on clinical practice and health care delivery; introduce new ideas, skills, and technology; and disseminate pertinent research findings in order to improve the quality of the health care that is delivered by the participants.

Mission Statement

The Mission of the Office of Continuing Medical Education of the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine is to provide educational activities to physicians and other health care professionals that reinforce basic medical knowledge, impart updated information on clinical practice and health care delivery, introduce new ideas, skills and technology and disseminate pertinent research findings in order to improve the quality of health care that is delivered by the participants in our programs. This is in concert with the educational mission of the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine which supports the continuum of medical education through programs in undergraduate, graduate and continuing medical education. The Office of Continuing Medical Education works with the Assistant Dean, Continuing Medical Education and the Continuing Medical Education Committee of the University of California, Irvine Faculty Senate in order to fulfill its mission and to ensure that all of its educational activities are in full compliance with the Essentials and Standards of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education.

AB 1195 Culture & Linguistic Competency

Is in compliance with California Assembly Bill 1195 which requires continuing medical education activities with patient care components to include curriculum in the subjects of cultural and linguistic competency. Cultural competency is defined as a set of integrated attitudes, knowledge, and skills that enables health care professionals or organizations to care effectively for patients from diverse cultures, groups, and communities. Linguistic competency is defined as the ability of a physician or surgeon to provide patients who do not speak English or who have limited ability to speak English, direct communication in the patient’s primary language. Cultural and linguistic competency was incorporated into the planning of this activity. Additional resources on cultural and linguistic competency and information about AB1195 can be found on the UCI CME website at http://www.cme.uci.edu

Purpose

To provide educational activities to physicians and other health care professionals that reinforce basic medical knowledge, impart updated information on clinical practice and health care delivery, introduce new ideas, skills and technology and disseminate pertinent research findings in order to improve the quality of health care that is delivered by the participants in our programs. To facilitate liaisons between community physicians and the University of California, Irvine Health System through notification of these educational activities and the provision of on-site speakers to non-affiliated hospitals and medical facilities. To serve as a source of expertise regarding the theory, techniques and technology of continuing medical education through consultation services with other educators of physicians.

Content Areas

The Office of Continuing Medical Education of the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine provides educational activities spanning the spectrum of clinical medicine, medical research and medical education. Activities may be organized around specific medical specialties or subspecialties, disease processes or public health topics, research findings or research methodologies, changes in the health care delivery system, and/or theories, techniques and technologies that improve medical education. The faculty of these educational activities will be drawn both from the University community as well as from the community at large in order to maximize the effectiveness of the experience.

Target Audience

Depending on the nature of the individual educational activity, the target audience will consist of university faculty, physicians practicing in local affiliated and non-affiliated hospitals and medical centers and members of the state, national and international medical communities. Certain programs will be targeted to other health care professionals. In recognition of the continuum of medical education, medical students and residents are welcome at most educational activities.

Type of Activities

Various types of educational activities are provided by the Office of Continuing Medical Education of the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. Live activities form the core of the program, consisting of single and multiple day conferences, seminars, symposia, review courses and updates. Grand rounds are offered in multiple clinical disciplines and at several locations. Small group and/or individualized clinical training is also available in certain subspecialties. The teaching techniques and tools for live activities include didactic lectures, case presentations, panel discussions, demonstrations, workshops, small group discussions and hands-on laboratory activities. In order to foster interactions between the educators and the participants, question and answer sessions are an integral part of these live activities. Enduring materials are also used by the Office of Continuing Medical Education and these routinely include questions to be answered by the participant in order to verify understanding of the material presented.

Expected Results

A specific continuing medical education activity will be considered a success if members of the target audience state in their evaluations that the activity was responsive to their needs, relevant to their practice and increased their knowledge and skills in delivering patient care. The program of continuing medical education as a whole will be considered a success if it is able to increase the number of activities it sponsors each year, to increase the number of participants in those activities and/or to expand upon the content areas. The Office of Continuing Medical Education of the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine will monitor these parameters on a periodic basis, and work towards achieving these results.

Accreditation Statement

The University of California, Irvine School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.