Mission Statement
Continuing Medical Education Program

Purpose
The mission of the Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital's continuing medical education program is to provide comprehensive and innovative continuing medical education activities that are designed to increase medical knowledge and skills and ultimately change practice behavior in Cardiovascular Medicine and other medical specialties.

Target Audience
Continuing medical education activities are designed to meet the identified educational needs of physicians, clinical researchers and other medical educators at the local, regional and national levels. Although most participants reside within the United States, international participants also attend. Non-physician healthcare providers who may benefit from the educational content may also participate. 

Type of Activities
Activities are provided through faculty-led programs as well as a library of enduring materials to support self-directed learning. Specific activities include regularly scheduled series, topic-specific symposia, live activities, and online enduring materials. Activities jointly sponsored with external organizations are occasionally offered.

Content
Course content is determined through assessing educational needs and identifying learning gaps by utilizing the following sources:

• scientific advancements in various fields of medicine and surgery
• outcomes data used to evaluate current practice standards defined by practice guidelines
• expert consensus statements
• perception of the need by the intended audiences.

Expected Results
All continuing medical education activities are designed, implemented, and evaluated with the following primary goals:

• Enhance and update physician knowledge and clinical skills
• Provide opportunities for dialogue and debate with peers and experts on covered topics
• Support change in physician practice behavior as necessary to conform with established bodies of evidence and clinical practice guidelines.

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Updated July 2011