SACME Virtual Journal Club

Celebration of the Decades - 1990s

Does CME Work?

Monday, September 29, 2025

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EDT

Free for SACME Members / $30 Non-Members

Join us for this important session as we continue remembering seminal publications in continuing medical education (CME) and continuing professional development (CPD) over the past 50 years. We will have a rare opportunity to revisit important literature and hold conversations with scholars who have made major contributions to our field.

Session Overview

In this session, we will explore several studies led by Dr. Dave Davis that take a rigorous approach to examining the effectiveness of CME and addressing the central question: Does CME work?

In the 90s, inspired by the rise of evidence-based medicine and the emphasis on rigorous outcome measurement, colleagues at McMaster University and elsewhere began conducting systematic reviews of randomized controlled trials of educational interventions, some of them ‘classical’ CME, others on more innovative formats. Their results were published in JAMA, with at least one study remaining among the most highly cited in the journal’s history.

In a Q&A discussion, Dr. Davis will address the following questions, in addition to those raised by participants:

• What was the culture at McMaster University that encouraged him to raise, and pursue, these questions?
• What were the key messages of these systematic reviews?
• Beyond the findings, what did he learn about CME/CPD, about study teams, about the role of the SACME, and about himself?
• What does he see as the next steps in CME/CPD research?

As always, we welcome your thoughts and perspectives and hope to see you engaged in our VJC.

Speaker

Dave Davis, MD, CCFP, FCFP, FRCP(hon), FSACME

Professor Emeritus, Family & Community Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada

Adjunct Professor of Medical Education, Mohammed Bin Rashid 
University of Medicine and Health Sciences, Dubai, UAE
Senior Global Advisor, AXDEV, Montreal, Quebec

Host and Facilitator

Mila Kostic, CHCP, FACEHP