Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
MISSION STATEMENT FOR CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION
Vision 2020
The CME Program at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine will be a critical partner in
achieving the medical center’s goal of improving the health status of the public in Nashville,
Davidson County, the state of Tennessee, and the rest of the country.
Mission Statement
The mission of the CME program at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is to offer
learning opportunities to physicians and other members of the healthcare team that will
enable them to provide the very best possible care to their patients and perform optimally
in their other professional responsibilities.
Goal
To accomplish the mission, the CME program at Vanderbilt will offer learning opportunities in a
variety of accessible and convenient formats that:



provide information that is based on research evidence where it exists or on accepted best
practice;
address performance-based learning needs that physicians encounter in their professional
responsibilities;
incorporate educational strategies that facilitate transfer of what was learned into practice.
Target Audience
The target audience for the CME program at Vanderbilt consists of four groups of physicians and
health care professionals:




The primary target audience consists of School of Medicine faculty and the physicians
who practice within the Vanderbilt health care enterprise;
Physicians who practice in the catchment area of Vanderbilt University Medical Center
and may or may not refer to Vanderbilt physicians;
Physicians who practice in other parts of Tennessee and the Southeast;
Physicians who practice in other parts of the United States and other countries.
Within these groups, special efforts will be made to provide a lifelong learning home for
graduates of Vanderbilt’s health science education programs.
Vanderbilt CME is dedicated to supporting interprofessional and team continuing education.
Whenever appropriate, members of health profession teams will be included as part of the target
audience.
Content
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is part of a comprehensive, research-intensive
academic medical center with all specialties and subspecialties represented. CME program staff
will work with faculty to develop CME activities in areas where there are demonstrated
educational needs in patient care (the health of the public, performance issues and/or advances in
new knowledge) as well as in research, teaching, and administration. Content will be based on
the latest available scientific research and the clinical expertise of faculty.
Educational Activities
Physicians will be able to participate in educational formats that range from large meetings in
conference centers to the self-directed learning projects of individual physicians. Examples of
these formats include but are not limited to:





large conferences that focus on practice-based educational needs and encourage
interaction between faculty and participants as well as among the participants;
regularly scheduled series that address performance-based learning needs that physicians
encounter in their professional responsibilities;
practice-based educational activities that combine performance assessment and learning;
enduring materials in an interactive format designed to provide evidence-based
information that will lead to improved performance and enhanced patient care;
distributed programming (synchronous and asynchronous) that addresses practice-based
educational needs in an interactive format.
In addition, CME learning consultants will work as coaches with physicians to develop individual
learning plans and learning portfolios that will help them meet the maintenance of certification
(MOC) requirements of their specialty societies.
Expected results
The expected results (outcomes) for the Vanderbilt CME program for Academic Year 2010-2011
are:





CME activities will be offered to address the top five health problems in Tennessee:
 heart disease
 malignant neoplasms
 cerebrovascular disease
 chronic lower respiratory diseases
 trauma.
CME activities will be offered to address issues related to obesity and smoking.
CME activities will be offered to address issues related to high risk pregnancies and
premature births.
CME activities will be offered integrating learning and performance improvement.
25 per cent of participants in CME activities will respond to commitment to change
questions on activity evaluation forms, including a six month follow-up.
Accomplishment of expected results will be reviewed annually and revised as indicated.
Strategy
Develop capability and structure to accomplish the mission and realize the vision while meeting
current needs and expectations of stakeholders.
Approval
Approved by the Executive Faculty, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, November 2009.