To consider the principles underlying the Maintenance of Professional Standards (MOPS) program, in light of current developments in continuing medical education (CME).
Conclusions:
MOPS is a quality assurance (QA) project that is now outdated and needs review. Current thinking about how doctors learn suggests that what is needed in its place is an educational program based on continuous quality improvement (CQI) and adult learning principles. Such a program would be practice-based, self-directed, peer-supervised and locally managed. This would provide flexibility in meeting the ongoing educational needs of individual Fellows in a way that the current system does not.
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