The nature of medicinal treatment is always advancing, be it new surgical processes, technologies, or medications. To remain competitive and compliant, physicians need to stay up-to-date with each development. But that goes beyond incorporating new healthcare infrastructure or adding staff. It’s recommended doctors continue their educational path to avoid falling behind the curve.
All fields of study have room for growth. Like any skill, healthcare is no different. While the idea of continuing education sounds daunting and time-consuming, the results are worth it. Furthermore, license and regulatory compliance require continued education and certifications.
That said, the decision to further your career in medicine is not a small one and careful considerations should be made to pursue these new certifications (outside of mandated requirements).
We’ll discuss the key reasons you should further your educational path, and you can even use the Dragon Medical One dictation software to help.
What to consider
Continuing medical education – or CME – yields numerous benefits: expanding your knowledge base, staying compliant with certifications, and even offering additional, profitable services. That said, CME brings a set of challenges you need to prepare for. Physicians juggle the lion’s share of time demands, frequently overwhelmed by administrative responsibilities. So, when combined with paperwork, EMR, patient treatment, and invoicing obligations, it can appear impossible to set aside any meaningful hours for education.
It is therefore important to establish a meaningful goal and take advantage of any tool that saves time – such as the Dragon dictation software. We’ll expand on that later, but first, let’s go over some initial considerations.
Why should I get additional CME credits?
Requirement for certifications and regulatory conditions
Some licenses require medical practitioners to update their medical education. CME credits are mandatory depending on the practice and each state will have different mandates. As such, you will need the credits to keep your practice compliant with state regulations.
In many cases, CME credits are needed for board certifications too, where relevant. If you don’t maintain CME compliance, you run the risk of financial penalties and fees. Combined with other costs, this is enough to sink a practice and cause the loss of your medical license.
Utilizing the best treatment, methods, and medicines
Again, medicine changes constantly, and additional CME credits assure you’re applying the best possible procedures for your patient base. Specialists are in distinct need of advanced CME credits, as specific conditions observe new treatments at a higher frequency than traditional care. This also assures you maintain a positive doctor-patient relationship and strengthens your brand, since patients can rely on you for their healthcare.
Improving profit margins
Because you stay updated with proper CME certifications, you continue operations as a practice and invite new patients too. Your expanding knowledge base provides a range of services that otherwise may not be available with competing healthcare organizations.
Though it’s rare, you will dodge malpractice suits and accusations by always having the best available knowledge and certifications at your disposal.
Beating the competition
You’ll not only see your bottom line boosted with CME certifications, but you’ll stay ahead of the competition that elects not to gain further CME credentials or expand their services. Patients will put more trust in an organization that takes workforce education seriously and will even see it as an investment in the quality of their care.
How can Dragon Medical One help me with CME?
We offer a range of dictation software platforms for all professions, and Dragon Medical One specifically can help medical professionals. Designed for clinicians and doctors, it’s a helpful assistant if you’re considering CME certifications and credits.
Remember that Dragon is powerful dictation software built for healthcare services. When used with the proper equipment, doctors can document spoken dictation with industry-leading accuracy. In a professional setting, it’s used to cut down on the oppressive time demands associated with EMR, letters, and after-visit clinical work. But, Dragon Medical can also be used to assist with CME for a variety of reasons.
Advancing education requires diligent note-taking and review of lessons to best incorporate them into how you learn. Thus, dictation software capturing the spoken word – where relevant – assures you have accurate notes at your disposal with less time required to record them. You can even set custom template words or phrases to log notes faster where relevant, allowing you to quickly study important material.
Given doctors and healthcare professionals are strained by limited timeframes with their current responsibilities, Dragon is an ideal secondary tool to aid them in their CME advancement. Consider, for instance, the average typed WPM – around 40. Dragon dictation software boosts this to an expedited 160 words per minute, four times faster with powerful accuracy. In a CME context, that’s invaluable.
What challenges are there with attaining CME credentials?
Though it’s highly recommended and encouraged to continue your medical education, some challenges still deter potential doctors and physicians. These are worthwhile barriers to address before your dive headfirst into a CME program.
Time Demands
As mentioned, time is the constant deciding whether a professional continues or enhances their background with CME credits. Any program will have time requirements, and professionals need to set aside allotted hours on chosen days to achieve their goals. However, given the high demands of a medical environment, some feel this is too difficult in the short term to appropriately manage.
Qualified Programs
As with any education, practitioners must check if their selected CME program and course(s) are accredited and recognized. Furthermore, depending on how they explore their CME (online courses, groups, physical classes), their learning model should provide them with robust training and proper education. As with any form of education, a lacking model for learning, whether that’s the instructor style or course materials, will yield diminishing results.
Cost Concerns
Courses will have financial costs associated with their study, related to both materials and certifications. A practicing physician will need to budget accordingly.
Finding the right CME course
Despite the challenges and difficulties associated with acquiring new CME credentials, the long-term is well worth it. If you’ve decided to seek a CME course (or courses) in the future, you will want to find the right one.
What you choose depends on a variety of factors, including some of the challenge elements we’ve discussed. You, as both a practitioner and someone looking to expand their CME, need to make proper considerations for what you can do in a desired time frame. Establishing personal criteria will help you find the right program(s) and CME courses. And, remember, you can always rely on the Dragon Medical One dictation software to give you an edge in your studies.
Here are some additional deliberations to keep in mind before investing in full-feature CME courses or certification paths.
Travel
Live conferences and courses may require traveling for extended periods. How far you’re willing to go, what you can budget for, and the time you’ll need should play a role in this decision.
Time Investment
How many hours do you have in a week to set aside for courses? If time is a serious consideration, do you have practical options nearby that are conscious of your professional and CME demands?
Online Courses
If you’re comfortable learning from online environments and feel confident you can manage the workload with minimal assistance, online CME credentials are a good fit. They were especially popular during the COVID pandemic and options still exist for healthcare professionals seeking CME credits.
If you’re looking at online courses, make sure to check their accreditation. Doing research about course quality and satisfaction rate is doubly important, as you don’t want to invest in CME courses that are “fast and easy.” Online courses are a mix of comprehensive presentations and understandable course material, and because you aren’t in physical proximity to groups or study bodies, you’re at a slight disadvantage.
Impact on Medical Practice Hours
Time is a constraint, as mentioned. Will seeking additional CME credentials impact your hours? Are there other physicians or staff able to help your patients on off-hours or days?
Ultimately, you’ll need to decide between online or in-person lessons. The former is popular for time-conscious reasons but requires additional research for proper accreditation.
Using Dragon Medical One
With time-sensitive demands and the need to continue CME certifications, you’ll want any resource at your disposal that helps. Dragon Medical One works well for dictation in a healthcare context and can prove invaluable for note review while pursuing advanced education.
For more information, reach out or start your risk-free trial today.
