Continuing medical education: a survey of practitioners' needs and interests.

A number of factors, including legislated recertification or relicensure, have engendered a tremendous increase in the number and type of continuing medical education (CME) programs being offered. There is very sparse documentation of the involvement of the intended recipient or practitioner in the conceptualization, development and conduct of CME programs. In order to more accurately ascertain the factors or circumstances that influence attendance or nonattendance at a CME program, a five-page questionnaire was developed that asked a randomly sampled population of 313 practicing obstetricians ane gynecologists to indicate their preference for CME programs.