Program design and delivery in Canadian CME drug therapy courses.

Objective: To examine how drug therapy course directors design and deliver drug therapy courses, and whether they employ adult education principles to assure effective education.
Design: Analysis of a three-part questionnaire sent to directors of drug therapy courses in Canada.
Participants: The questionnaire was sent to all seven directors of drug therapy courses at medical schools that are accredited continuing medical education providers.
Results: All directors completed and returned the questionnaires. To decide on course content, most use feedback from previous course attendees, peer consultations, course committee member discussions and their own perceptions of learners' needs. Courses generally use conventional teacher-dominated technology rather than methods that emphasize active learner participation.
Conclusion: Directors of Canadian continuing medical education drug therapy courses reasonably employ adult education principles when deciding learner needs and designing teaching vehicles.