Continuing Medical Education - General Information & FAQ
Mission Statement
University of Illinois College of Medicine Mission Statement for Continuing Medical Education
Reviewed and modified, October, 2002
(Click this link to open or download Mission Statement in pdf format.)
The mission of the UIC College of Medicine is to "...enhance the health of the citizens of Illinois through: the education of physicians and biomedical scientists; the advancement of our understanding and knowledge of health and disease; and the provision of healthcare in a setting of education and research.."
The goals to achieve this mission include achieving excellence in the science, art, and practice of medicine through: Teaching, Research, Patient Care, and Public Service.
Physician education is fundamental to the mission of the College. The challenge to the College of Medicine is to develop the ethic of lifelong learning through the continuum of education. This physician education must occur as a vital component of the continuum of medical education. As undergraduate medical education (UGME) becomes more community oriented and based, graduate(GME) and continuing medical education(CME) must become more closely linked to it. In order to accomplish and implement this continuum, the College of Medicine must maintain an appropriate environmental infrastructure, acknowledge and demonstrate its institutional commitment to this continuum. Lifelong learning is an essential element of the professional.
The objectives listed below demonstrate the College of Medicine's commitment to all levels of medical education. The commitment to Continuing Medical Education follows the more general comments.
The University of Illinois College of Medicine will:
Provide for the education of physicians of high quality, in adequate numbers, and of appropriate specialties to serve optimally the needs of the citizens of Illinois.
Advance practice pattern excellence by utilizing needs assessment in educational program development.
Help in meeting national and international needs as well as those of the State of Illinois in the production and education of:
- Physicians for the practice of clinical medicine;
- Physician scientists for medical research;
- Physician educators to satisfy academic needs;
- Broadly educated leaders to influence medical policies in government and industry; and
- Physician administrators.
Encourage the majority of medical students to enter clinical practice, particularly the primary care medical specialties, and to choose locations which best serve the citizens of Illinois.
Assure that the physicians who graduate will provide the leadership that meets the needs of society. Continuing Medical Education activities must be created and implemented by the UIC College of Medicine in order to maintain its commitment to the citizens of Illinois locally, the citizens of the United States nationally, and the citizens of the world internationally. While educating medical students as generalists in order for them to enter all fields of medicine we must provide continuous medical education activities which aid our graduates and practitioners as well as others in their pursuit of lifelong learning.
All CME activities will be governed by the policies of the UIC College of Medicine Continuing Medical Education Committee and the Standards of the Accreditation Council on Continuing Medical Education(ACCME). These standards are employed in the identification, design, implementation, and evaluation of continuing medical education activities.
The CME Program's ultimate goal is to provide our physicians with a mechanism for their continued learning resulting in:
- Improvement in patient care and
- Appropriate change in physician behavior.
Toward the fulfillment of this mission, the goals and objectives of Continuing Medical Education at the University of Illinois College of Medicine are as follows:
- To update medical practitioners, enhancing their performance and behavior by helping them to acquire new knowledge, skills, and attitudes appropriate to the latest evidence based practice theories.
- To develop CME programs and to encourage departments to develop programs to meet the needs of:
- Primary care practitioners in Illinois.
- Faculty of the UIC College of Medicine.
- Specialty and subspecialty groups locally, nationally, and internationally.
- To improve teaching skills and to provide faculty development activities for faculty.
- To respond to the unique educational needs of each College of Medicine site including Chicago, Peoria, Rockford, and Urbana.
- To collaborate with joint sponsors when they can help us to further the aims above.
- To provide adequate resources for the College's overall CME mission, and for the needs of each site
- To develop episodic activities based on specific, identified needs, as well as regularly scheduled activities that will provide updates on topics germane to the department. These activities will use the most appropriate means to accomplish their goals.
- To incorporate efficient procedures into the administrative component of the our CME mission including:
- Program development
- Accurate records of program participation
- Evaluation of the effectiveness of the CME activity by reviewing specific physician behavior change and/or modification in practice.
The above Mission Statement, goals and objectives will be used annually by the COM Continuing Medical Education Committee to assess the College's overall CME program and its various activities with the aim of determining the College's accomplishments in light of the Statement. In addition, the Mission Statement will be reviewed every three years together with the above as a self study.
Adopted by the College Committee on CME April 10, 1997;
Reviewed March 9, 1998; Reviewed and modified April, 1999; Reviewed April, 2000; Reviewed and modified, August, 2001; Reviewed and modified, October, 2002.
