On January 18, 2014, Don Moore, PhD, professor of medical education and administration, director, office for continuous professional development, and director, UME curriculum evaluation, was interviewed as part of the Alliance for Continuing Education in the Health Professions (ACEHP) inaugural Exemplar Interview at the Annual Conference in Orlando, Florida. The ACEHP is the largest professional organization for individuals involved in the CEHP enterprise. The focus of the interview was the article he wrote with Joseph Green and Harry Gallis entitled “Achieving desired results and improved outcomes Integrating planning and assessment throughout learning activities.”1 The article, published in the Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions in 2009, has been widely cited and has been influential in providing a framework for outcomes research in CME.
In response to the interviewer’s questions, Don indicated that the idea for the framework that is described in the article emerged early in his graduate school days and evolved reflecting his experience as a CME planner. An important influence was the seminal study by Fox, Mazmanian, and Putnam, Changing and Learning in the Lives of Physicians.2 Publishing versions of the framework helped to articulate the framework more clearly.3-5 The theory-based evaluation and logic model work of Len Bickman at Vanderbilt6,7 provided the structure for the version that was published in the 2009 article and that will support future revisions.
The interview ended with Moore suggesting that the development of the framework could not have been accomplished without the contributions of scholars working in the fields of medical education and education in general. In addition, Don said that the message of The Inquiring Mind,8 by Cyril Houle, an early pioneer in the field of adult education, encouraged him to continue to ask “Why is that so?” as he searched to understand how physicians learn and how to plan learning activities for them.
1. Moore DE, Jr., Green JS, Gallis HA. Achieving desired results and improved outcomes by integrating planning and assessment throughout a learning activity. J Cont Educ Health Prof. 2009;29(1):5-18.
2. Fox RD, Mazmanian PE, Putnam RW. Changing and learning in the lives of physicians. New York: Praeger; 1989.
3. Moore DE, Jr. A framework for outcomes evaluation in the continuing professional development of physicians. In: Davis D, Barnes BE, Fox R, eds. The continuing professional development of physicians:From research to practice. Chicago, Illinois: American Medical Association Press; 2003:249-274.
4. Moore DE, Jr. Needs assessment in the new health care environment: Combining discrepancy analysis and outcomes to create more effective CME. J Contin Educ Health Prof. 1998;18(3):133-141.
5. Moore DE, Jr. How physicians learn and how to design learning experiences for them: An approach based on an intrepretive review of the evidence. In: Hager M, Russell S, Fletcher SW, eds. Continuing Education in the Health Professions: Improving Healthcare through Lifelong Learning. New York: Josiah Macy Foundation; 2008:30-62.
6. Bickman L, ed Using program theory in evaluation. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 1987. New Directions for Program Evaluation.
7. W. K. Kellogg Foundation. Logic Model Development Guide. Battle Creek MI: W.K.Kellogg Foundation; 2004.
8. Houle CO. The inquiring mind. Madison, Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press; 1963.
