The Practical Strategies for Creating CME/CE Content: Insights from Adult Learning Scholarship

Abstract

Medical writers play an important role in developing accredited, non-promotional continuing medical education (CME) for physicians and continuing education (CE) for nurses, pharmacists, and other health professionals. Written materials that are balanced, valid, and non-biased offer foundation and context for many CME/CE activities. To ensure that CME/CE content meets the learning needs of health professionals, expands knowledge, and builds skills, it is important for medical writers to be knowledgeable about adult learning principles (ALP) and emerging insights from the learning sciences. This article reviews a range of ALP strategies that medical writers can use to write CME/CE materials that optimize learning in CME/CE.