Continuing Medical Education

When I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine in 2008, there was no SARS Cov-2 virus. We still treated hepatitis C with pegylated interferon and ribavirin. We didn’t have the glp-1 agonists like dulaglutide to treat diabetes, or continuous glucose monitoring devices.

Medicine is constantly changing, and clinicians struggle to stay up-to-date in our knowledge base. We read medical journals and UpToDate, but is that enough? Primary care review courses, like the Harvard one led by David W. Bates, MD, MSc, Jane S. Sillman, MD, and Cristina B. Alexander, MD are available, but they are costly.

So here’s my question – what is the best way to “sharpen the saw” – is it a traditional CME course? And what about board certification, for those of us who trained in internal medicine or family medicine? Do those certification exams reflect the reality of outpatient medical practice in 2022?

I wish CME courses were clearly pharma-free, affordable, and relevant. They should be customizable- for example I have developed an interest in pain management, ultrasound, and the musculoskeletal physical exam since I started my new job at Upham’s Corner Health Center nine months ago. Those topics, along with nutrition, exercise counseling, opioids, and motivational interviewing, are key CME topics for outpatient primary care.

Primary care is exciting, even thrilling. It’s great to practice preventive medicine and get to know families over time in a neighborhood. We need a single payer/ Medicare for all, and improved electronic medical record, to attract clinicians to federally qualified community heath centers. We can do it, if we organize and Imagine – think of the song by John Lennon.