Commitments, learning contracts, and seminars in hospital-based CME: Change in knowledge and behavior

Abstract

This study examines implementation of learning contracts in the continuing

Commitment to Change and Assessment of Confidence: Tools to Inform the Design and Evaluation of Interprofessional Education

“…To expand the evidence base and theoretical foundations of CTC, we conducted independent sample t ‐tests to explore the influence of confidence and commitment in relation to behavioral change following the Symposium. Within the CTC model, levels of commitment following the Symposium were not related to attendees’ implementation behavior.…”

“…Commitment‐to‐change studies include theoretical foundations, program evaluation, and experimentation to test conditions for change . As a rule, these studies recommend further examination of CTC to elaborate the properties of commitment and to validate its role in promoting or measuring change in education and care.…”

Requesting a commitment to change: Conditions that produce behavioral or attitudinal commitment

“…Such needs, as Parker and Mazmanian observe, "arise generally from the physicians' sense of responsibility to maintain or improve their professional competence." 45 The authors suggest that this normative motivation led the physicians to commit voluntarily to engaging in seminars that required active involvement. When the incoming information was considered useful to improve their competence and skills, the physicians could have been motivated to adopt the new line of action because it was the "right thing to do."…”

“…In a study conducted by Parker and Mazmanian, 45 participants were requested to specify the changes they intended to make as a result of attending seminars. Six different seminars were conducted, and in four of those a significant number of participants had implemented intended changes by the 3-month follow-up.…”

Training Young Pediatricians as Leaders for the 21st Century

“…[26][27][28][29][30] Researchers in medical education similarly have found that behavioral change (or "learning") contracts reinforce the educational goals of a program once a physician returns to his or her clinical setting. 23,[31][32][33][34][35][36] The YPL used reflective learning strategies and asked participants to construct daily worksheets regarding possible behavioral changes that they would implement after the training program. On the last morning of the program, participants contracted to make 1 specific leadership change off of their worksheets (see Table 2).…”