We realize that statistics and mathematics can be either boring or fearsome to many physicians and educators, yet we believe that some foundations are necessary for a better understanding of generalizability analysis. Consequently, we have tried, wherever possible, to keep the use of equations to a minimum and to use a conversational and slightly "off-serious" style.

This guide is designed to provide a foundation for developing effective continuing medical education (CME) for practicing physicians. For the purposes of this work, continuing medical education is defined as any activity which serves to maintain, develop, or increase the knowledge, skills and professional performance and relationships that a physician uses to provide services for patients, the public, or the profession (American Medical Association 2007; Accreditation Council for CME 2007). The term continuing professional development (CPD) is broader and has become more popular in many areas of the world. As defined by Stanton and Grant, CPD includes educational methods beyond the didactic, embodies concepts of self-directed learning and personal development and considers organizational and systemic factors (Stanton & Grant 1997). In fact, this guide describes many modalities that may be defined as CME or CPD. In the interest of simplicity, we will use the term continuing medical education (CME) throughout, with the understanding that the same strategies may be applied to non-clinical continuing professional education. For those who do not work exclusively in CME, many terms and processes may be unfamiliar. This guide is intended to provide a broad overview of the discipline of CME as well as a pragmatic approach to the practice of CME. The format provides an overview of CME including history and rationale for the discipline, followed by a practical approach to developing CME activities, the management of the overall CME programme and finally, future trends. At the end of the guide you will find resources including readings, websites and professional associations to assist in the development and management of CME programmes.

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PBL philosophy may challenge the need for explicit and specific educational objectives in medical education. From a practical point of view, however, such objectives are essential to achieve a close overlap between learning, teaching and assessment. Since the 1970s medical licensing in Switzerland has been based, among other things, on passing a uniform, centrally prepared MCQ exam for the graduates of all five Swiss medical schools. The need for a set of jointly developed learning, teaching and assessment objectives has become apparent. The Joint Conference of Swiss Medical Schools has therefore charged a small taskforce with the development of such a catalogue. This paper describes the background, process and results of this work.