L’Educazione Continua in Medicina (ECM) per i professionisti della salute

A Continuing Medical Education (CME) programme was started in Italy in 2002 by the Ministry of Health. According to the programme, all health professionals must obtain a minimum of CME credits. According to the principle of self-directed learning, they may choose among the various CME courses which are offered by Institutions, Universities and professional societies. All proposed CME activities must be approved by an ad hoc committee, which is set up for each main discipline. The CME committees evaluate the proposed CME activities and attribute the credits according to predefined criteria. Interactive learning is given priority. Evaluation of quality appears as the most difficult problem. Participation of all professionals is needed to ensure success and further development of the programme.