Additional professional education of medical doctors and clinical practice results (analytical online study)

PURPOSE. To study the opinion of ophthalmologists about the usefulness of training programs presented on the continuing medical education (CME) web portal, their significance and impact on the process of obtaining knowledge in modern conditions, when the scene is dominated by hybrid forms of education.MATERIAL AND METHODS. This study was multicenter scientific and analytical selective cross-sectional observational in design and was conducted in the period from June to September 2021; it was based on the data obtained by an online survey among Russian ophthalmologists with varying records and/or work experience, employed at institutions of different forms of ownership. The prepared questionnaire included two groups of questions: general statistical data and special questions related to the topic "glaucoma".RESULTS. The study involved 1113 clinically practicing ophthalmologists (88%), with an average medical experience of 18 (0; 50) years, without medical category (35%), and have a polyclinic as their main place of work (77%). According to the survey results, 46% of respondents give a high assessment of the content of educational programs, 35% — negative. When choosing therapeutic and diagnostic tactics, doctors prefer their own clinical experience (36.4%), while the main source of knowledge today is the CME training courses (30.8%). According to respondents, the target level of intraocular pressure is achieved in clinical practice in around 71% of cases, which is facilitated by the comprehensive approach to treatment (47%). At the same time, according to the majority of specialists (71%), only 25% of patients achieve target intraocular pressure.CONCLUSION. Representativeness of the sample is beyond doubt. Registration on the CME web portal, in general, does not depend on work experience, attitude to educational organizations, or place of work. With increase in work experience, there is an increase in the number of positive responses characterizing the information completeness of the CME training courses (from 39.7% to 61.8%). CME programs in the field of glaucoma and comorbid ophthalmic pathologies require adaptation taking into account personal skill levels of ophthalmologists.