MCC 360 now available to individual physicians looking to advance their Continuing Professional Development

MCC 360, a multi-source feedback tool for practising physicians, is now available in both official languages to individual physicians seeking Continuing Professional Development (CPD) opportunities.

CPD is an integral part of the healthcare profession. For the physician, maintaining and improving quality standards of medical care is a multifaceted and lifelong learning process involving the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours.

Whether you’re a physician who is new to practice or a seasoned family doctor, reflection on your own performance is crucial in the ever-evolving environment of medical care.

As a respected leader in medical assessment, the Medical Council of Canada (MCC) recognizes the importance of physician development and has designed a new version of MCC 360 available to individual physicians who wish to take their practice to the next level. Previously, MCC 360 was only available to physicians nominated by their organizations for internal CPD requirements.

MCC 360 delivers actionable and meaningful feedback on physician performance in their roles as a communicator, a collaborator and a professional. An MCC 360 package includes surveys to be completed by patients, physician colleagues, and non-physician co-workers, as well as a self-assessment completed by the physician. The responses are collated and analyzed to create a report that contains quantitative feedback based on respondent answers and narrative, qualitative feedback in the words of peers and patients. The physician thus receives a comprehensive snapshot of their performance through the eyes of the people most relevant to their everyday practice.

“At this point in my life,” says Dr. Brian Cornelson, a family physician who participated in the MCC 360 self-select pilot project, “although I’m probably towards the end [of my career], I really wanted to get an assessment of, am I as good as I think I am?” He says the fact that the feedback obtained via MCC 360 comes from colleagues, non-physician co-workers as well as patients makes it a very comprehensive and well-rounded assessment.

“It’s about more than just knowledge, it’s also about relationships with others.“

̶  Dr. Brian Cornelson,
Participant

For many who have used MCC 360, it is the narrative responses from respondents, as well as the delivery of the results by a facilitator that have proven to be the most valued aspects. Once all steps of the program are completed online and a feedback report is generated, the physician is contacted to schedule a one-on-one coaching session with a trained peer-physician facilitator. The MCC has established a partnership with Saegis, a subsidiary of the Canadian Medical Protective Association, for delivering confidential coaching sessions to help physicians create a plan to bring feedback into practice.*

“I think [facilitation] is very interesting, because it makes it real,” says Dr. Cornelson. “If you just get a printed report, you can see it through your own lens. Whereas, if I’m reviewing it with a facilitator, I’m going to get their point of view.”

In addition to the valuable feedback it generates, MCC 360 is an efficient way to gain CPD credits from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and the College of Family Physicians of Canada. All physicians completing MCC 360 are eligible for three credits per hour. Physicians completing this individualized MCC 360 assessment may earn up to 15 CPD credits in the Assessment category. Many may consider this an interesting alternative to attending a conference, which often requires travel and hotel costs in addition to the costs associated with the conference.

While more and more organizations such as medical regulators, health authorities and hospitals are opting to use MCC 360 for physician development, individual physicians are also recognizing that expectations of patients are high. This is one path to ensuring those expectations of care are met and giving physicians the tools to deliver the best possible care to their patients.

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*Read our latest update on the coaching component of the MCC 360.

Additonnal information on the MCC 360 program.