Letters / Correspondance

CJRM 2000;5(2):94

I read with great interest "Rural CME — redefining the beast" in CJRM's Fall 1999 Rural CME section.¹ I concur with the premise of the column and the 3 insightful principles of what constitute relevant rural continuing medical education. I offer the following random thoughts for consideration.

1. Rural CME is an opportunity to educate urban physicians, especially specialists to whom rural physicians refer, on the unique issues and challenges that rural physicians face. As is implicit in point #2 of the article, one key role of a rural faculty member is to identify the unique circumstances under which rural physicians practise, and to identify how literature-based knowledge can be applied practically un-der these conditions. A successful rural CME program should not only draw participants from both urban and rural areas, but be an open channel for exchange of experiences to allow participants to reach a mutual understanding about the differences and similarities of their practices.
2. Ideally, rural CME should be conducted in rural settings, preferably drawing participants from the host communities, and with the involvement of the specialists to whom the participants refer. Including an urban specialist in a rural CME activity is reasonable, but efforts should be made so that the local specialist can be an integral part of any discussions.
3. Rural CME ideally should address not only the needs of rural family physicians, but also those of rural specialists. Although educational needs for these 2 groups may be different, the application of knowledge in a rural setting is very similar for both. Rural CME that emphasizes knowledge and skill applications not only is mutually helpful to both family physicians and specialists, but it also forms a basis of solidarity for the alignment of needs, lobbying for resources and for mutual support.

As an urban-based physician I welcome the insights that our rural colleagues shed on this very important CME issue and I look forward to future discussions.

Kendall Ho, MD, FRCPC
Associate Dean and Director
Division of Continuing Medical Education
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, BC

Reference

1. Upcoming events: Rural CME — redefining the beast. Can J Rural Med 1999;4(4):237.

In the first article¹ of our continuing series "Rural patient stories / physician management narratives," which is appearing in the Case Report section of CJRM, Dr. George Goldsand's name was inadvertently omitted from the list of authors (the Working Group on Postgraduate Education for Rural Family Practice). We apologize for this error.

Reference

1. Rourke JTB, Goertzen JH, Hatcher SN, Humphries PWH, Iglesias SJ, Mackinnon S, et al. Rural patient stories / rural physician management narratives. Rural maternity care. Can J Rural Med 2000;5(1):21-3.

© 2000 Society of Rural Physicians of Canada