Medical education agency
Encyclopedia
Medical education agencies are a specialty subset of advertising agencies that develop educational content for the Healthcare, Life Science and Biotechnology
industries. Medical education agencies are divided into two categories:
(most commnonly referred to as CME) programs, do so within the strict guidelines set forth by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
(ACCME) and the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME). Those who wish to offer CME courses, and thus employ the services of a medical education agency, must receive accreditation from the ACCME. Accreditation allows organizations, such as the American Nursing Certification Center (ANCC) to develop educational course content that physicians and other professional medical staff may use to satisfy annual CME requirements.
To avoid the risk of undue bias from commercial sponsorship, all accredited organizations must follow the commercial disclosure rules set out by the ACCME. Medical education agencies must familiarize themselves with these regulations in order to receive CME accreditation from one or more ACCME accredited organizations.
, also referred to as Promotional education, programs specialize in developing content whose commercial sponsorship is clearly outlined, and course content focuses on specific products or therapies in which the sponsoring organization has a financial interest.
Hospitals, Universities, Pharmaceutical and Medical device manufacturers may employ medical education agencies to develop specific content, or to apply Instructional Design
principles to existing content to make it more readily understood by an instructor led audience. This will include developing informational structures to follow learning theories
, targeting content toward a specific audience or set of audiences and
Learning Management System (LMS) or a webcast engine.
Hospitals, Universities, Pharmaceutical and Medical device manufacturers may employ medical education agencies to develop specific content, or to apply Instructional Design
principles to existing content, to make a product, technology or concept more readily understood by a self directed audience. Medical education agencies also help learners to better understand complex content through interactivity, animation and virtual simulations of training content.
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
industries. Medical education agencies are divided into two categories:
CME
Medical education agencies that develop Continuing medical educationContinuing medical education
Continuing medical education refers to a specific form of continuing education that helps those in the medical field maintain competence and learn about new and developing areas of their field. These activities may take place as live events, written publications, online programs, audio, video, or...
(most commnonly referred to as CME) programs, do so within the strict guidelines set forth by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education
The Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education sets and enforces standards in physician continuing education within the United States...
(ACCME) and the Society for Academic Continuing Medical Education (SACME). Those who wish to offer CME courses, and thus employ the services of a medical education agency, must receive accreditation from the ACCME. Accreditation allows organizations, such as the American Nursing Certification Center (ANCC) to develop educational course content that physicians and other professional medical staff may use to satisfy annual CME requirements.
To avoid the risk of undue bias from commercial sponsorship, all accredited organizations must follow the commercial disclosure rules set out by the ACCME. Medical education agencies must familiarize themselves with these regulations in order to receive CME accreditation from one or more ACCME accredited organizations.
Non-CME
Medical education agencies that develop Non-CMEContinuing medical education
Continuing medical education refers to a specific form of continuing education that helps those in the medical field maintain competence and learn about new and developing areas of their field. These activities may take place as live events, written publications, online programs, audio, video, or...
, also referred to as Promotional education, programs specialize in developing content whose commercial sponsorship is clearly outlined, and course content focuses on specific products or therapies in which the sponsoring organization has a financial interest.
Delivery Mechanisms
The majority of content developed by medical education agencies supports one of two types of delivery mechanism: Instructor Led Training (ILT) and Self Directed Training (SDT).Instructor Led Training
Instructor led training, ILT, is the practice of face-to-face delivery of information and learning material between an instructor and learners. Instructor lead training can take the form of didactic training, laboratory demonstration and/or clinical application.Hospitals, Universities, Pharmaceutical and Medical device manufacturers may employ medical education agencies to develop specific content, or to apply Instructional Design
Instructional design
Instructional Design is the practice of creating "instructional experiences which make the acquisition of knowledge and skill more efficient, effective, and appealing." The process consists broadly of determining the current state and needs of the learner, defining the end goal of instruction, and...
principles to existing content to make it more readily understood by an instructor led audience. This will include developing informational structures to follow learning theories
Learning theory (education)
In psychology and education, learning is commonly defined as a process that brings together cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences and experiences for acquiring, enhancing, or making changes in one's knowledge, skills, values, and world views . Learning as a process focuses on what...
, targeting content toward a specific audience or set of audiences and
Self Directed Training
Self Directed Training, is the practice of gaining information from learning materials without an instructor present. Self directed training takes many forms, including deployed eLearning content, textbooks, searchable databases of information and viewing of training presentations at one's own pace. Self directed training often takes place through a web portal, a SCORM compliantSCORM
Sharable Content Object Reference Model is a collection of standards and specifications for web-based e-learning. It defines communications between client side content and a host system called the run-time environment, which is commonly supported by a learning management system...
Learning Management System (LMS) or a webcast engine.
Hospitals, Universities, Pharmaceutical and Medical device manufacturers may employ medical education agencies to develop specific content, or to apply Instructional Design
Instructional design
Instructional Design is the practice of creating "instructional experiences which make the acquisition of knowledge and skill more efficient, effective, and appealing." The process consists broadly of determining the current state and needs of the learner, defining the end goal of instruction, and...
principles to existing content, to make a product, technology or concept more readily understood by a self directed audience. Medical education agencies also help learners to better understand complex content through interactivity, animation and virtual simulations of training content.