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Although anecdotes suggest that emergency medical technicians often them-

A randomized controlled study was conducted to determine if specifically designed continuing medical education in the fields of cardiovascular and cancer medicine could change doctor office behaviour significantly. Thirty-one volunteer family doctors from 25 offices participated. Six (three cardiovascular and three cancer) learning objectives were defined. Two educational formats were selected as the independent variables: (1) group interaction opportunities (face-to-face and teleconference); and (2) concisely written newsletters. Chart measures of doctor performance prior to and 6 and 12 months following education served as the dependent variables. The family doctors receiving education were found to perform the recommended behaviours significantly more than those who did not receive the education (P less than 0.05) at 6 months post-education. This difference was maintained at the 12-month post-educational period for one of the educational programmes offered. A carefully planned programme of continuing medical education will result in favourable changes in the office practice of volunteer doctors. These changes can persist for as long as 12 months. Adherence to several essential learning principles is required.

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A randomized controlled time series design was used to evaluate the influence of an educational intervention designed to improve the presentation skills of family medicine residents. Each resident gave three presentations, with the educational intervention occurring between the first and second presentations in the experimental group, and between the second and third presentations in the control group. The presentations were evaluated using a standardized format. The experimental group, in contrast to the control group, showed significant improvement in scores for all major criteria after receiving the educational intervention between presentations 1 and 2. This improvement continued with repetition between presentations 2 and 3. After receiving the educational intervention between presentations 2 and 3, the control group also demonstrated significant improvement in several key areas. We conclude that an educational intervention can improve the presentation skills of family medicine residents. Education coupled with repeated opportunities for presentation will produce a greater improvement in resident performance than repeated presentations alone.