Continuing medical education in Serbia 2011-2017: A standstill

Introduction/Objective. Continuing Medical Education (CME) is a crucial element to keep the level of professionalism in the three key fields of medical education: pre-clinical, clinical, and public health. The profile of CME in Serbia has been analyzed for the 2011–2017 period. Methods. Between 2011 and 2017, 11,557 courses of CME have been submitted for accreditation, described by 26 variables. Due to the predominance of nominal data, we employed a principal component analysis (PCA) using the nonlinear iterative partial least squares algorithm (PCA/PLS) to arrange the 16 variables with complete information in such a way that most influential factors could be displayed and ranked. The analysis was done with TIBCO Statistical Software. Results. The Faculty of Medicine of Belgrade takes the top position among the medical faculties in Serbia with 569 courses or 47.9% (n = 1187; 2011–2017), whereas non-educational institutions with 86.2% of all courses (n = 11,514) are the most dominant providers. Clinical topics dominate the thematic spectrum with 59.7%. Between 2012 and 2017, the total number of courses offered diminished by 16.9%. A PCA of 16 potential determinants of CME reveals that the most relevant ones are duration, credit points, price, and number of lecturers. Conclusion. For the last decade, a standstill or even a regression in the development can be observed. Especially the faculties of medicine in Serbia, as well as other major providers, should reconsider the entire structure of their administrative organization and initiate innovative development.