More than 10 years registration of continuing medical education as part of quality control by the Netherlands Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology and Cervico-Facial Surgery.
After more than 10 years registration, 93% of ENT specialists in The Netherlands fulfil the requirements for continuing medical education in spite of the fact that sanctions (no re-registration) have not been implemented to date. Improvements have been made over the years. Information about how to set up a comparable system was supplied to 10 other scientific societies. A recurrent point for discussion is whether or not to award points for presentations, papers and (co)publications. On the one hand, it seems reasonable to reward the effort but, on the other hand, it creates practical problems. As a matter of fact, all members who give papers and write articles appear to attend more than enough postgraduate education. The process of accurate registration of continuing medical education, including accreditation and certification, is time-consuming. Moreover, it requires intensive and essential supervision by an experienced colleague who has a thorough knowledge of the specialist field.