As I write this, I have just completed presenting a continuing education, or CE, course, one of the more than 4,000 I have presented over the past many years. I am on a plane on my way home, after spending nearly three hours more than what was required before Sept. 11 to check in and clear airport security. Overall, speaking on one day to several hundred people has cost me nearly one more full day of travel than it did before the terrorist activity in New York City, Washington and Pennsylvania.
I am seriously considering the effect that the Sept. 11 tragedy will have on dental CE over the short and the long term. Dentists still need CE and the accompanying credit, and they will be seeking the easiest and best methods to obtain this education as the nation recovers from this attack and prepares for potential attacks to follow. This article expresses my opinions based on experiences as a CE lecturer.
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FACTORS RELATED TO FUTURE DENTAL CONTINUING EDUCATION
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Destination courses vs. local courses.
In general, people are now apprehensive about flying. My recent flying experiences show that their fears may be unjustified, since airport and airline security are better than ever before. Nevertheless, the fear of future terrorist problems with airlines will have a negative influence on dental courses that require airline trips.
Airline travel is now less attractive than ever before. One hour ago, I stood in a line more than 100 yards long to get through security. Well-known dental CE speakers may request higher fees, because more travel time is required when providing the courses. Will course attendees tolerate the significant time loss and extra harassment to attend a CE course in a distant city? Time will tell, but I predict a significant short-term reduction in CE attendance that requires airline travel. If there are no more problems with airline terrorists, attendance in destination courses will return to normal over a period that is unknown at this point.
I predict at least a short-term increase in local CE courses provided by local speakers or by national or international speakers who will tolerate the airline challenges.
Times during the day when courses are held.
Short courses held in destination locations may need to be started earlier in the morning and end earlier in the afternoon. This type of schedule would allow participants to arrive the day before the course and leave after the course with enough time to complete the security checks before boarding early-evening flights.
Recreation/learning experiences.
Most of these courses require airline travel and entail the related airport problems and fear. Unless travelers’ fears are alleviated, cruises, golf/dental courses, fishing/dental courses and other similar courses will decrease in popularity, whereas courses sponsored by local groups and attended by local dentists still will be popular. I am sorry to see this happen, because recreation/learning courses are one of the few legitimate, tax-deductible benefits afforded to the dental profession.
Large attendance vs. small courses.
Do you feel safe in a large group of people? Currently, some people do not, unless there is a sufficient security staff present. The increase in the popularity of small courses could assist dental schools or study clubs, which usually have smaller attendance at their courses.
Audiotapes, videotapes and DVDs.
I predict all three of these types of CE will increase in demand and use. Practitioners can remain in their own homes or offices and gain credits for participating in these types of CE. After making hundreds of these CE programs, I feel that for many dentists, at-home education may be better than sitting in a course. I have always stated that video or DVD programs that are produced with close-up photography and moving hands to demonstrate techniques are among the best CE available. Even such programs that are merely slides put on video or DVD often are better than having the same teacher provide a live course—because the viewer can stop, repeat certain sections and take time out to ponder the meaning of some aspects of the presentation.
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JOURNALS AND OTHER PERIODICALS
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In independent study, a practitioner can stay home, read information on a given subject and receive CE credit after taking a brief posttest. This mode of CE has not been too popular, but it now may be more attractive. However, the current level of many of these articles is far too pedantic and wordy to attract many practitioners. Authors need significant upgrading in educational principles, as well as assistance in writing concise and appealing articles. I find it impossible to stay interested in most of the available CE credit articles in the current dental literature.
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COURSES ON THE INTERNET
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I have participated in several of these productions. I can understand the failure of this mode of CE because of the current limitations of Internet and computer technology. The programs have been slow and lacking in motion because of the loading limitations of the current technology. I, and obviously many others, would not spend the time to participate in them.
People far more knowledgeable than I in this subject tell me that there will be significant advancements in Internet information transmission in the next few months and years. If information can be loaded onto personal computers more rapidly, and if Internet programs can contain more visual, moving information instead of still images, this mode of CE has extremely high potential. The only question is how long it will be before the required computer and Internet technology maturation takes place.
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LIVE CONTINUING EDUCATION
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Do you remember when television was introduced, and the doomsayers said that movies were obsolete? Has that happened? No. In fact, movies have increased in popularity. It appears that the public, including dentists, wants to participate in group functions in a pleasant environment. I have made hundreds of videos and DVDs. Do dentists avoid coming to my live CE courses because they can see me on a screen in their homes? On the contrary, the videos and DVDs, if anything, have increased the interest in my live presentations.
I do not see any upcoming technology that will eliminate people’s participation in live CE and hands-on courses. I predict as soon as the current scare caused by the terrorist activities subsides, our profession will return to its longtime love affair with face-to-face CE.
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SUMMARY
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The American people and our profession have been dealt a traumatic blow. The short-term effects of this incident are obvious: all aspects of our economy have slowed; travel and dental CE attendance are down; dentists are seeking other modes of CE that do not require travel. As the country recovers, I predict that dental CE will have a temporary lull, but that the desire for dental CE will continue to expand, and that the destination and local courses to which we have been accustomed will flourish again.
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FACTORS RELATED TO FUTURE...
JOURNALS AND OTHER PERIODICALS
