2011 Canadian Association of Gastroenterology Educational Needs Assessment Report

The annual survey of Canadian Association of Gastroenterology (CAG) members’ educational needs was conducted via an online survey during March and April. A total of 205 individuals completed the survey. Similar to previous years, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) topics were most in demand for future educational events. Other highly rated areas were the following: celiac disease, endoscopic techniques and therapeutics, and live endoscopy. Of those who had an opinion on the subject, 58% preferred that Canadian Digestive Diseases Week (CDDW) be held at a resort over a major airport hub. More than two-thirds of respondents supported CAG providing speakers or content for regional/provincial gastroenterology society meetings. Approximately one-half were aware of the launch of CAG’s educational portal (ePortal) in 2009 and 31% had visited the site. Those familiar with the ePortal overwhelmingly agreed that it was valuable, easy to use and that they would visit again.


INTRODUCTION
The purpose of the CAG needs assessment was to provide guidance to the Executive and CAG Education Affairs regarding areas of greatest educational need.Conducting a needs assessment is a requirement for accreditation of educational events in accordance with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC).

METHODS
The members of Education Affairs include Drs Collin Barker, Maria Cino, Dana Farina, Andrea Faris, Jamie Gregor, Ralph Lee, Maitreyi Raman, Craig Render, Connie Switzer, Kevin Waschke, Brian Yan and trainee member Catharine Walsh.A subgroup of the committee designed the needs assessment survey, which was a modified version of the one used in 2009.
The needs assessment was posted online via the CAG website and members were requested by e-mail to complete the simple 'tick box' survey.Data were compiled and analyzed at the CAG National Office.
The survey included the following three sections: the first collected basic demographic information; the second examined interest in topics for educational events; and the third explored desired activities/formats for accredited learning activities.
Respondents were asked to rate their interest in 43 potential topics for educational events using a five-point scale with the following responses: no interest, minor interest, neutral/not sure, some interest, and very interested.They were also queried regarding how CAG should interact with provincial/regional gastroenterology organizations, CAG's provision of Maintenance of Certification credits and the new educational Portal (ePortal).

RESULTS
A personalized e-mail request sent to CAG members in early April succeeded in generating 201 respondents, representing 18% of the solicited membership.

Demographics
Virtually all respondents were CAG members (97%) and 68% were men.Regarding education, 72% held an MD or equivalent degree, 24% and 17% held a PhD or MSc, respectively, and 15% held another degree.Of the 148 respondents for whom the question was applicable, the year of medical school graduation was before 1970 for 9%, 1970 to 1979 for 20%, 1980 to 1989 for 20%, 1990 to 1999 for 17%, and 2000 or later for 34%.Most respondents were predominantly based at teaching hospitals (63%), rather than community based with (18%) or without (2%) hospital privileges, while 17% answered 'not applicable'.
Respondents' specialty was identified as adult gastroenterology by 45%, pediatric gastroenterology by 10%, hepatology by 0.5% and surgery by 0.5%.Basic and clinical scientists comprised 23% and 1%, respectively, of respondents.Residents and fellows accounted for 10%, and 'other' roles for 10%.
Regarding the question of where respondents spend their time, 39% identified clinical practice as their primary focus and 29% noted basic research (ie, more than 50% of their time performing research).Clinician-researchers (50% or less time performing research) formed the next biggest group at 10%, followed by clinician-teachers (50% or less time teaching) at 8%.Less commonly, individuals were involved in clinical research (more than 50% of the time) (5%), administration (more than 50% of the time) approximately 2%, teaching (more than 50% of the time) approximately 2%, or 'other' duties (6%).

Educational topics
For the 43 educational topics surveyed, the percentage of respondents who were 'very interested' in each topic are shown in Figures 1 to 4. Consistent with previous years, IBD topics remained extremely popular.Apart from IBD, live endoscopy, celiac disease, endoscopic techniques and radiological imaging for gastrointestinal disorders were among the most desired educational areas (Figure 1).The most-desired topics according to  1.

Learning activities/formats
Regarding how CAG should interact more with provincial/ regional gastroenterology organizations, 74% selected 'providing speakers/content for provincial/regional meetings', 51% selected 'recording of provincial/regional meetings for online educational activities' and 22% noted combined collection of membership fees.The majority of respondents (75%) for whom the question was applicable (59% [107 of 180]) noted that they rely on the CAG for less than one-half of their MainCert credits (Figure 5).Regarding the question 'Would it be of benefit if CAG provided review and Section-3 RCPSC accreditation approval for external (AGA, ACG, ASGE, etc) self-assessment programs?' 86% of respondents answered 'Yes'.
Regarding the CAG's ePortal, 51% were aware of its launch in September 2009, and 20% had visited the website.Of those who had visited the ePortal, 98% agreed they would visit the site again, 93% found the site easy to navigate and 90% found the educational content to be of value.

DISCUSSION
Sixteen per cent of the solicited membership participated in the full survey.An ongoing priority for Education Affairs is to develop innovative and easy assessment tools to encourage greater participation by members to accurately reflect their educational needs.
IBD remains the highest priority of respondents despite yearly Canadian Digestive Disease Week (CDDW) sessions in this area since 2002.Apart from IBD, live endoscopy, celiac disease, and endoscopic techniques and therapeutics were popular.CAG Education Affairs is actively working to increase the quantity and quality of educational materials and programs that members can use as part of their ongoing maintenance of certification activities.These findings, along with evaluations of CDDW 2010 and identification of unrecognized educational needs, have formed the basis of the 2011 CDDW program.

Figure 5 )
Figure 5) Responses to 'How much do you rely on the CAG to provide you with Maintenance of Certification credits?' from the 107 respondents for whom the question was applicable