Do CE mandates impact the number of CE providers and licensing board complaints? A longitudinal look

ABSTRACT

With few exceptions, the effectiveness of continuing education (CE) mandates has been measured by self-report assessments of the professional psychologists who fulfill them. The present investigation provided a longitudinal look at the number of approved CE providers and the incidence of licensing board complaints across a succession of two-year cycles prior to, and following, the 2012 implementation of CE mandates in the State of Illinois. Findings showed a substantial increase in the number of CE providers across that time, though no significant change in the incidence of licensing board complaints, suggesting that the increased availability of CE did not translate into lower complaint rates. Possible reasons for these findings are noted, and recommendations for future work are detailed in support of an evidence-based approach to CE that better articulates and aligns its objectives with its outcomes in an era of renewed accountability in the health professions.

KEYWORDS:

• Continuing education
• CE mandates
• continuing professional development
• lifelong learning
• clinical competence

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank Neil Pliskin, Chairperson of the Illinois Clinical Psychologists’ Licensing and Disciplinary Committee; Jana Martin, CEO of Trust Risk Management Services, Inc.; and Chubb Insurance for their assistance in obtaining the data used in this study. The data that support the findings of this study are available in Table 1 and from the first author, S.R., upon reasonable request.

DISCLOSURE STATEMENT

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.