Purpose
The Association of Reproductive Health Professionals (ARHP) recognizes that the best health care is delivered through a team of professionals partnering with an informed patient. ARHP brings together health care professionals across disciplines and specialties for evidence-based training and network building among committed colleagues. ARHP’s mission and core competence is about education, with a focus on translating good science into clinical practice.
ARHP is dedicated to improving reproductive health care through a high-quality Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program. ARHP’s CPD program is built on its positions, accepted professional standards, peer-reviewed studies, and a commitment to integrity in patient care.
ARHP’s strategic plan includes two goals related to its CPD program
- Expand ARHP’s position as the leading resource for reproductive health professionals throughout their academic training and their continuing professional development.
- Develop comprehensive education and training models and integrate them into all CPD programs, using innovative approaches to adult education and considering all members of the health care team.
Content
ARHP’s CPD activities reflect the breadth of topics encompassed in reproductive health care, including
- Abortion
- Adolescent health
- Contraception
- Emergency contraception
- HIV/AIDS
- Male health
- Maternal health
- Menopause
- Reproductive cancers
- Reproductive genetics
- Sex and sexuality
- Sexually transmitted diseases/infections
- Urogynecology
Within this broad array of content areas, ARHP seeks to address those issues that are identified priorities for closing existing professional practice gaps in health care quality and are most relevant to the scope of practice of its constituents. Professional practice gaps are identified primarily by experts in the field, in collaboration with ARHP staff. Educational activities are based on the standards that define the professional practice of those that comprise ARHP’s membership.
Target Audience
The primary audience for ARHP’s CPD activities are reproductive health professionals in the United States, including physicians, nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, pharmacists, students, educators, and researchers.
Type of Activities
ARHP offers a broad range of educational formats. Teaching methods and media are selected to best suit the type of educational activity, needs of activity participants and desired outcome. Formats include:
- Live conferences and workshops
- Enduring materials in print and electronic formats
- Web-based activities, such as live and archived courses and virtual patient case studies
- Performance improvement activities
ARHP engages in joint sponsorship activities with other organizations that have a common mission and/or educational objectives. Joint sponsorship collaborations are carefully chosen and ARHP is meaningfully engaged in the planning and execution of all jointly sponsored activities. ARHP does not engage in joint sponsorship activities with organizations that have a commercial interest, or organizations that have a parent organization that have a commercial interest.
Intended Results
ARHP evaluates the outcomes of its educational activities for three potential desired results:
- Changes in competence, which is defined as the ability of learners to apply knowledge gained to clinical practice.
- Changes in performance, which is measured approximately three months post-activity and seeks to assess if learners actually implemented the intended new behaviors in practice.
- Changes in patient outcomes, which is measured through anecdotal information provided by learners about the impact of the activity on patient care results. Occasionally, patient outcomes are determined by chart audits of actual outcomes, such as performance improvement activities.
All outcomes data for individual activities are analyzed and reviewed with the assigned program manager, program advisors, and ARHP’s director of education and medical director. Improvements are identified and implemented to ensure continuous quality improvement. Each activity’s outcomes are displayed in a report format that may include pre- and post-test data, immediate post-session data, and follow-up data to assess performance-in-practice.
On an annual basis, ARHP formally assesses how well the CPD Mission has been addressed and conducts a comprehensive review of outcomes data across all accredited activities. This evaluation is done in conjunction with the people listed above and the chair of the education committee. The ARHP director of education and education team ensure that any changes indicated by this assessment process are implemented in future educational programming.
Approved by ARHP’s Board of Directors, March 27, 2012.
About Audrey Kelly, PharmD