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Marketing is an important component of continuing medical education (CME). However, marketing is more than the identification of methods to recover costs of delivering programming. It focuses on meeting the needs and desires of physician participants, identifying an appropriate location, satisfying the goals of a sponsoring institution, and making an effect on the quality of care given by receivers and deliverers of CME. This paper discusses these issues as well as describes results of a survey designed to gather opinions on CME activities from alumni of training programs of a large, referral-based, multispecialty group practice. The data suggest that CME programs should be targeted to certain specialty groups as determined by field of training rather than practice specialty. Physicians' preferences for CME activities held at resort settings should be considered. Finally, participation in CME may itself be a marketing tool for a sponsoring institution to increase referrals.

The graduate of a medical training program is in a unique position to evaluate that program in comparison with the realities of medical practice. A survey of alumni of the Cleveland Clinic's graduate training programs was conducted in September 1986. The alumni's perceptions of the quality of their programs and the educational services provided by the Division of Education are discussed in relation to the educational administrative structure and evaluation process at The Cleveland Clinic Foundation. The need for such evaluation methods, as well as additional techniques to provide a comprehensive evaluation system in graduate medical education, is emphasized.