Commitment to change (CTC) questions are the caboose of every post-activity CME evaluation – stripped of all relevancy and sustained solely by nostalgia. Almost 40 years since its introduction, we can now all retire this method, confident that it has served us well, as it’s now time for something more…app-ish. And off it goes, grumbling its final words toward obscurity:
…but, you never really knew me.
Before you dismiss CTC, check out this article. People have been studying CTC for a long time. And there’s value to this approach – assuming you use it correctly. Should you use a follow-up survey? If so, when? How? How should you word the questions? Should you include a rating scale? And how should you sort through and interpret the results? This stuff all matters. You won’t find an easier-to-digest summary than the 2010 article in Evaluation & the Health Professions.
So, yes, if you’re simply maintaining a “What are you going to change in your practice?” question at the end of every CME evaluation – definitely send that packing. Then read the aforementioned article. You’ll find that CTC has limitations but when done in accordance with the latest evidence, there’re a lot of good data to be had.
