A comparative analysis of the perceived continuing medical education needs of a cohort of rural and urban Canadian family physicians.

Objective: To assess the perceived continuing medical education (CME) needs of a cohort of Canadian family physicians.

Methods: We distributed a questionnaire survey to Canadian family physicians who became Certificant members of the College of Family Physicians in 2001 and practised outside the province of Quebec. Main outcome measures were self-reported CME needs, professional development needs and preferences for CME delivery methods.

Results: We distributed 482 surveys and 197 questionnaires were returned for a response rate of 40.9%. Significant differences between rural and urban respondents' self-reported CME needs were found in the clinical areas of dermatology, endocrinology, emergency medicine, musculoskeletal, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, psychiatry and urology. Generally, a greater proportion of rural respondents reported significantly higher CME needs in emergency medicine. Urban respondents reported a significant preference for consulting colleagues as a method of CME, while rural respondents reported a significant preference for videoconferencing.

Conclusion: Self-reported CME needs and preferences for CME delivery methods differ on the basis of region of practice and size of the community in which family physicians' practise.