SEARCHSYSTEMATIC_REVIEWfamily medicine, internal medicine

systematic_review·family medicine, internal medicine, research methods·PMC10351643

On the advantages and disadvantages of virtual continuing medical education: a scoping review

Canadian Medical Education Journal · 7 authors, 9 centres

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TL;DR

This scoping review synthesized findings from 282 studies on virtual continuing medical education (VCME) for physicians. It found that while VCME offers advantages like convenience and cost-effectiveness, significant disadvantages include technological barriers and poor design, with limited attention to equity issues like gender and race.

Full summary

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This scoping review, guided by the Arksey and O’Malley framework, synthesized 282 studies on virtual continuing medical education (VCME) for physicians published between January 1991 and April 2021. The analysis identified key advantages such as convenience, favorable learning formats, collaboration, and effectiveness in improving knowledge and clinical practices. Prominent disadvantages included technological barriers, poor design, cost, and lack of sufficient technological skill. The review found VCME was most common in general/family practice and suburban settings, with most events organized by countries in the Global North. A major limitation noted was that only a minority of studies reported on participant gender (35%) and race (4%), limiting understanding of the impact on vulnerable populations. The authors conclude that while VCME has benefits, it presents equity challenges, particularly for attendees from the Global South due to factors like time zones and internet accessibility.

STUDY TYPE

systematic_review

SPECIALTY

family medicine

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

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100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10351643

On the advantages and disadvantages of virtual continuing medical education: a scoping review

Canadian Medical Education Journal

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ABSTRACT

Introduction With the COVID-19 pandemic, most continuing medical education activities became virtual (VCME). The authors conducted a scoping review to synthesize the advantages and disadvantages of VCME to establish the impact of this approach on inequities that physicians face along the intersections of gender, race, and location of practice. Methods Guided by the methodological framework of Arksey and O’Malley, the search included six databases and was limited to studies published between January 1991 to April 2021. Eligible studies included those related to accredited/non-accredited post-certification medical education, conferences, or meetings in a virtual setting focused on physicians. Numeric and inductive thematic analyses were performed. Results 282 studies were included in the review. Salient advantages identified were convenience, favourable learning formats, collaboration opportunities, effectiveness at improving knowledge and clinical practices, and cost-effectiveness. Prominent disadvantages included technological barriers, poor design, cost, lack of sufficient technological skill, and time. Analysis of the studies showed that VCME was most common in the general/family practice specialty, in suburban settings, and held by countries in the Global North. A minority of studies reported on gender (35%) and race (4%). Discussion Most studies report advantages of VCME, but disadvantages and barriers exist that are contextual to the location of practice and medical subspecialty. VCME events are largely organized by Global North countries with suboptimized accessibility for Global South attendees. A lack of reported data on gender and race reveals a limited understanding of how VCME affects vulnerable populations, prompting potential future considerations as it evolves.

CITATION EXPORT

Courtney Cheng, Janet Papadakos, Ben Umakanthan et al.. On the advantages and disadvantages of virtual continuing medical education: a scoping review. Canadian Medical Education Journal. (2023). https://doi.org/10.36834/cmej.75681

AUTHORS

7 · 9 CENTRES

Courtney Cheng, Janet Papadakos, Ben Umakanthan, Rouhi Fazelzad, Maria Athina (Tina) Martimianakis, Mohamed Ugas, Meredith Elana Giuliani

1Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Dublin, Ireland;
2Cancer Education Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Ontario, Canada;
3The Institute for Education Research, University Health Network, Ontario, Canada;
4Institute of Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
5Library and Information Sciences, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Ontario, Canada;
6Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
7Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Ontario, Canada;
8Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada;
9The Wilson Centre, University Health Network, Ontario, Canada.