Vive la Différence: A Comparison of CPD Quality Assurance Systems in France and The United States

ABSTRACT

Offering relevant, evidence based continuing professional development (CPD) to ensure the continued competence of health professionals is a universal concern. This concern will become even more crucial in a world facing global health threats and in a context of internationalisation of learning environments. While accrediting systems (i.e. external quality assurance systems for CPD) share a common goal to promote high quality CPD, each system is shaped by national history and contexts. An international movement is working to enhance the convergence of accrediting principles and processes. One of the first steps is to know and understand each other. This article serves this goal by offering a descriptive comparison of two seemingly different CPD quality assurance systems – in France and in the USA of America. The descriptions were developed by members of the accrediting bodies in both countries. The main finding of this descriptive study is that, despite stark differences in historical contexts and governance schemes, both regulators share principles of quality and independence of CPD and have endorsed a leadership role in promoting effective strategies, including interprofessional continuing education and practices. The commonalities of goals and values revealed in the study support the efforts of the International Academy for CPD Accreditation related to the globalisation of both health issues and learning environments.

KEYWORDS:

• CPD accreditation
• interprofessional continuing education
• CPD quality
• CPD independence
• CPD and France
• US CPD

Disclosure Statement

Kate Regnier, Tamar Hosansky, and Graham McMahon receive salaries from the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). They have no other financial interests or benefits to disclose.

Michèle Lenoir-Salfati, Jean-Philippe Natali, Anne Depaigne-Loth, Laure Poirat receive/have received salaries from the Agence nationale du Développement Professionnel Continu. They have no other financial interests or benefits to disclose.

Notes

¹ Loi n° 2016–41 du 26 janvier 2016 de modernisation de notre système de santé

² Health professions defined by law and concerned by CPD obligation are: physician (general practitioner and all specialists), dental surgeon, midwife, pharmacist, Medical laboratory specialist, medical physicist, nurse, advanced practice nurse, nursery nurse, anaesthesia nurse, operating nurse, nursing assistant, nursery assistant, physiotherapist, speech therapist, orthoptist, psycho-motor therapist, dietician, occupational therapist, chiropodist, dental surgeon assistant, pharmacy assistant, medical laboratory technician, medical imaging technologist, episthesist, ocularist, hearing-aid maker, optician, ortho-prosthetist, pedorthist, orthopaedist-orthotist

³ Objectives are defined in the law: loi n° 2016–41 du 26 janvier 2016 de modernisation de notre système de santé; article L.4021–1 du Code de la santé publique

⁴ Décret n° 2016–942 du 8 juillet 2016 relatif à l’organisation du développement professionnel continu des professionnels de santé

⁵ Arrêté du 31 juillet 2019 définissant les orientations pluriannuelles prioritaires de développement professionnel continu pour les années 2020 à 2022

⁶ Ordonnance n° 2021–961 du 19 juillet 2021 relative à la certification périodique de certains professionnels de santé

Additional information

Funding

This article was funded internally by the ACCME and the Agence nationale du Développement Professionnel Continu. There were no external sources of funding.