Continuing professional development challenges in a  rural setting: A mixed-methods study

In this study, we explored the barriers that health professionals in a rural healthcare context faced participating in CPD activitie s and their preferences regarding educational strategies to overcome these challenges.MethodsThis mixed-methods (exploratory sequential) study in a  community hospital in rural Mexico includes 22 interviews, 3 focus groups, 40 observational hours, and a questionnaire of healthcare staff.ResultsDespite low engagement with CPD activities (67% not motivated), all participants expressed interest and acknowledged the importance of learning for their practice. Barriers to participating include a  disparity between strategies used (lecture-based) and their desire for practical learning, institutional barriers (poor leadership engagement, procedural flaws, and lack of resources), and collaboration barriers (adverse interprofessional education environment, ineffective teamwork, and poor commu nication). Additional barriers identified were inconvenient scheduling of sessions (75%), inadequate classrooms (65%), high workload (60%), ineffective speakers (60%), and boring sessions (55%). Participants’ preferred learning strategies highlighted activities relevant to their daily clinical act ivities (practical workshops, simulations, and case analysis). The questionnaire had an 18% response rate.DiscussionThe barriers to CPD in this rural setting are multifactorial and diverse. A  strong interest to engage in context-specific active learning strategi...
Source: Perspectives on Medical Education - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: research