Continuing medical education one year on--how was it for me?

Over the period of a year I have systematically recorded any episodes of continuing medical education (CME) that I have attended, and reflect on the effectiveness of this system in terms of whether it has achieved its objective, that is, has my behaviour changed, and whether the existence of the need to record CME has influenced this effect. I consider which aspects of CME have been most beneficial. I conclude that the proposed level of CME is readily achievable, useful, but costly. The way in which I learn most or best is in preparing presentations or teaching sessions. There has been some debate on the usefulness of keeping a record of CME to which I would like to add my opinion. I also recommend the form of record keeping I have used as an impetus to reflection and research on the topic of education received, as this reinforces and enhances the educational experience.