How to evaluate your CME Distance Learning?

Why evaluate?

  • Evaluation allows a CME provider to identify the merits and value of an activity and any areas needing improvement.
  • Evaluation is necessary to make the activity eligible for accreditation approval by ACOE.

How will you evaluate?

  • Plan to evaluate the activity at the outset and consider what type of information the evaluation could usefully identify.
  • There are many methods for evaluating educational activities and a CME provider is free to adopt its own evaluation procedure and form. Most providers use a standard evaluation form.
  • ACOE has produced a standard participant’s evaluation form that can be used by providers to evaluate their eLearning material
  • Providers can use alternative forms but these forms must at least include questions 1 to 5 of the ACOE Standard Participant’s Evaluation form.

What should you evaluate?

  • The extent to which desired learning outcomes are being fulfilled
  • The quality of the teaching
  • The extent to which the information presented was useful and relevant to the participants’ work and practice
  • The balance of the information presented and the adequacy of the evidence supporting it

What follows evaluation?

  • A CME provider will be asked to supply evidence that they have audited the evaluation forms and made use of the resulting information for planning future educational activities.
  • To answer this need the preparation of a simple evaluation report of the activity is requested.  This evaluation report should identify the accomplishments and/or deficiencies of the activity according to the feedback of the evaluation forms completed by the participants.
  • If you have created your own evaluation form/process then we would suggest that you keep a copy of the evaluation form or documented process along with the evaluation report.

What will ACOE wish to see?

CME providers are requested to provide ACOE with a copy of the Evaluation report no later than 3 months after the end of the validity date for accreditation. The Evaluation Report is based on the collection of the individual Evaluation forms filled out by the participants.