The Continuing Medical Education Program at California Pacific Medical Center strives to develop high quality, balanced and educational activities that instruct participants in current medical concepts that encourage them to make relevant changes in their clinical practices. Outcomes will be measured to ensure that a continuous link exists between our needs assessment and the improvements physicians make in their practices, which in turn, promotes better patient outcomes. Cultural and linguistic competencies will be addressed through the development of CME programs that address a variety of health disparities.

Our CME activities are primarily directed toward the broad spectrum of physicians at CPMC and Sutter Health affiliates in the North Bay. Resident physicians, medical students, and allied health professionals are also encouraged to participate in CME activities.

Specific educational activities include Grand Rounds, case-based conferences, enduring materials and complex courses and seminars. Activities may be organized around specific medical specialties or subspecialties, disease processes or public health topics, research findings or research methodologies, changes in the healthcare delivery system, and/or theories, techniques and technologies that improve medical education. The CME Committee will maintain a measurable evaluation system and a working interaction with the departments that provide CME activities, the Quality Department, and other educational programs. The scope of the CME Program will be determined by ongoing assessment and changes within the practice of medicine.

California Pacific Medical Center recognizes the importance of Continuing Medical Education to its overall mission and is committed to providing ongoing support to maintain and enhance CME programming.

The Committee includes members of the Active Medical Staff from California Pacific Medical Center.

The Committee performs the following duties:

• Oversees, coordinates and promotes ongoing special clinical and scientific programs for the medical staff. This includes:
  • Identifying the educational needs of the medical staff
  • Soliciting clear statements of objectives for each program from the applicable source
  • Assessing the effectiveness of the program
  • Approving appropriate teaching methods and knowledgeable faculty for each program
  • Documenting staff attendance at each program
• Maintains a liaison with the quality assessment and improvement program of the hospital in order to be aware of patient care improvement topics for the continuing medical education program.
• Maintains close liaison with other hospital medical staff and department committees concerned with patient care.
• Advises administration of the financial and staffing needs of the continuing medical education program.

Subject-based & Case-Based CME Conferences

Department chairs or designated physicians in charge of CME for their departments select speakers and topics based on:

1. Demonstrated need (based on external measurements: QA, patient surveys, tests)
2. Expressed need (based on physician surveys or suggestions)
3. Presumed need (based on basic curriculum, new developments, opinion and experience of program planners)