Making the continuing medical education lecture effective

Abstract

Although the lecture appears to be synonymous with continuing medical education (CME), the effectiveness of lecture-based CME remains in question. Despite conflicting data, the lecture continues to be widely used in the delivery of CME. This study was conducted to identify the attributes of an effective medical lecture and to assess the impact of a computerized audience response system (ARS) in a large CME course. Data were prospectively collected over 3 years from physicians participating in an intensive review of an internal medicine course. Features of the effective medical lecture and the use of a computerized ARS in facilitating learning were assessed with a study-designed questionnaire. The most important features of the effective lecture included clarity and visibility of slides, relevance of material to the audience, and the speaker's ability to identify key issues, engage the audience, and present material clearly and with animation. More than 85% of respondents felt that the ARS facilitated teaching clinical reasoning and medical facts and helped maintain alertness and identify their weaknesses. Lectures using ARS were statistically significantly better rated than those not employing it. These data identify specific attributes of the effective medical lecture that faculty can use to optimize teaching in CME courses. ARS technology improves the perceived effectiveness of the medical lecture and may facilitate learning, especially with large audiences.