Continuing education in clinical microbiology: A survey to determine scientists' attitudes to existing programmes

Changes to the pathology industry during the last decade have rationalised the delivery of services creating more efficient but much larger laboratories. A questionnaire was designed by the authors to assess the impact of these changes on the attitude to continued professional development by scientists employed in the area of medical microbiology. The survey was divided into four parts to assess the demographics of those surveyed, the types of laboratory in which they were employed, whether involvement in continuing education (CE) programmes was occurring and finally, to assess the extent of their involvement in CE. A total of 105 of 215 scientists from 12 institutions responded to the survey. The grading levels and therefore levels of responsibility of scientists participating in the questionnaire increased proportionally to their years of experience. Respondents recorded their participation in CE alternatives with the most frequently attended meeting being the biannual News from the Hospitals organised by the Victorian Branch of the Australian Society for Microbiology (ASM) (49%). Responses to questions investigating the participant's attitude to CE varied widely. The results of this survey provide a benchmark for future analyses of participation in CE in Victoria and possibly Australia. It will assist employers in understanding the needs of their workforce, provide information to educational bodies for the implementation of various training formats and direct professional bodies as they focus on attracting new and retaining existing members