Types of Online CME Instruction Defined
Arranged In Alphabetical Order

Type of Instruction	Definition of Type of Instruction
Board Review/Self-Assessment	A board review/self-assessment course is a comprehensive review of an area of medicine. The student can take the course either for his/her own satisfaction or to prepare for board certification or recertification.
Case-Based Interactive	A sample or simulated "patient" is presented. The program presents a small amount of information about the patient and waits for your response. The program gives positive or negative feedback on your answers and presents some additional information or teaching points before allowing you to proceed to the next piece of information and set of questions or choices.
Correspondence	A group of students is assigned to read or view an instruction during a specific time period. Then there are synchronous or asynchronous discussions between the instructor and the students or between the students.
Game	The program is presented in game format; as you answer questions or make choices, your score goes up or down. You may compete against yourself or against other players.
Guideline-Based	The main thrust of this kind of instruction is to describe and explain an evidence-based guideline or consensus statement. These instructions are usually text-based or text and graphics-based.
Performance Improvement	Structured, long-term processes by which a physician or group of physicians can learn about specific performance measures, retrospectively assess their practice, apply these measures prospectively over a useful interval, and reevaluate their performance. Some activities may be online, while others may be live presentations or consist of chart review in the practice setting.
Podcast (Audio or Video)	An audio podcast is an audio file that can be played through the speakers on your computer, or, more usually, downloaded and played through a portable device like an IPod or an MP3 Player. A video podcast is similar but also includes video as well as audio.
Point of Care Learning	This method may also be called "self-directed study." In this type of activity, physicians get CME credit for looking up answers to their own clinical questions on the web. The physician typically needs to document the question, what sources were accessed to find answers, and how this new information was used (or will be used) in practice.
Question-and-Answer	The program asks the student a question or series of questions (usually multiple choice), then gives immediate feedback about the answer and an explanation of the correct and incorrect choices with some (brief or extended) instruction about the topic.
Slide-Audio Lecture	This kind of course attempts to simulate attendance at a live lecture. You see the speaker's slides. You hear the speaker's words. You may also see a full-text transcript of the speaker's words. Sometimes you see "still" pictures of the speaker. Often you are able to pause the speaker or go back and listen and look at the slides again. Three common formats are RealAudio, Windows Media Player and QuickTime.
Slides-Only (OR Slides and Text)	You view the speaker's slides, usually in PowerPoint format. Sometimes you can also can read a full-text transcript of the speaker's words.
Slide-Video Lecture	Similar to slide-audio lecture, but you see video pictures of the speaker and sometimes of the content (e.g., a surgical procedure).
Streaming Video	This type of activity presents a videotaped procedure, usually surgical, either in its entirety or limited to the most pertinent sections.
Text and Graphics	This kind of instruction is similar to Text-Only, but in addition to text and tables, there may be charts, drawings, photographs, x-ray pictures, pathology slides and animations. Many Text and Graphics sites present the user with a "thumbnail" of the graphic; to see the full graphic, the user must click on the thumbnail.
Text-and-Audio	You hear the speaker giving his/her presentation and you also can read or print a text summary of the lecture content.
Text-Only	The instruction is like a journal or book chapter. Often, the instruction is many pages long, and you may find it convenient to print the instruction and read it offline. An increasing number of sites use PDF format for their text-based instruction. "Text-only" instruction may also include a few tables.

Types of Online CME Instruction Defined March 2010
Arranged In the order "most traditional" to "least traditional"

Type of Instruction	Definition of Type of Instruction
Text-Only	The instruction is like a journal or book chapter. Often, the instruction is many pages long, and you may find it convenient to print the instruction and read it offline. An increasing number of sites use PDF format for their text-based instruction. "Text-only" instruction may also include a few tables.
Text and Graphics	This kind of instruction is similar to Text-Only, but in addition to text and tables, there may be charts, drawings, photographs, x-ray pictures, pathology slides and animations. Many Text and Graphics sites present the user with a "thumbnail" of the graphic; to see the full graphic, the user must click on the thumbnail.
Slides-Only (OR Slides and Text)	You view the speaker's slides, usually in PowerPoint format. Sometimes you can also can read a full-text transcript of the speaker's words.
Slide-Audio Lecture	This kind of course attempts to simulate attendance at a live lecture. You see the speaker's slides. You hear the speaker's words. You may also see a full-text transcript of the speaker's words. Sometimes you see "still" pictures of the speaker. Often you are able to pause the speaker or go back and listen and look at the slides again. Three common formats are RealAudio, Windows Media Player and QuickTime.
Slide-Video Lecture	Similar to slide-audio lecture, but you see video pictures of the speaker and sometimes of the content (e.g., a surgical procedure).
Text-and-Audio	You hear the speaker giving his/her presentation and you also can read or print a text summary of the lecture content.
Guideline-Based	The main thrust of this kind of instruction is to describe and explain an evidence-based guideline or consensus statement. These instructions are usually text-based or text and graphics-based.
Question-and-Answer	The program asks the student a question or series of questions (usually multiple choice), then gives immediate feedback about the answer and an explanation of the correct and incorrect choices with some (brief or extended) instruction about the topic.
Board Review/Self-Assessment	A board review/self-assessment course is a comprehensive review of an area of medicine. The student can take the course either for his/her own satisfaction or to prepare for board certification or recertification.
Correspondence	A group of students is assigned to read or view an instruction during a specific time period. Then there are synchronous or asynchronous discussions between the instructor and the students or between the students.
Case-Based Interactive	A sample or simulated "patient" is presented. The program presents a small amount of information about the patient and waits for your response. The program gives positive or negative feedback on your answers and presents some additional information or teaching points before allowing you to proceed to the next piece of information and set of questions or choices.
Streaming Video	This type of activity presents a videotaped procedure, usually surgical, either in its entirety or limited to the most pertinent sections.
Game	The program is presented in game format; as you answer questions or make choices, your score goes up or down. You may compete against yourself or against other players.
Podcast (Audio or Video)	An audio podcast is an audio file that can be played through the speakers on your computer, or, more usually, downloaded and played through a portable device like an IPod or an MP3 Player. A video podcast is similar but also includes video as well as audio.
Point of Care Learning	This method may also be called "self-directed study." In this type of activity, physicians get CME credit for looking up answers to their own clinical questions on the web. The physician typically needs to document the question, what sources were accessed to find answers, and how this new information was used (or will be used) in practice.
Performance Improvement	Structured, long-term processes by which a physician or group of physicians can learn about specific performance measures, retrospectively assess their practice, apply these measures prospectively over a useful interval, and reevaluate their performance. Some activities may be online, while others may be live presentations or consist of chart review in the practice setting.

Last updated June 25, 2010