As designers of continuing education (CE/CME) for healthcare professionals (HCPs), we continually strive to make learning accessible, practical and meaningful. HCPs work within demanding and often unpredictable schedules, making it difficult to carve out time for professional development.^1,2 A national survey of U.S. clinicians identified lack of time as one of the most common barriers to CE/CME participation.³ When educational activities do not align with daily workflows, they are less likely to be used, leading to missed opportunities to reinforce evidence-based care and support better patient outcomes. This article highlights the need for flexible, high-quality learning that aligns with the realities of HCPs’ demanding schedules and clinical responsibilities.

Understanding the Modern Learner: HCPs in a Time-constrained Medical Education Landscape

HCPs often learn in the margins of their busy schedules — during pre-rounds, between appointments, on call, or while commuting.⁴ Increasingly, learning occurs “in the flow of work,”^5,6 rather than through separate events. Quick refreshers before procedures, brief decision aids for patient encounters, and short modules tied to real-world tasks have become central to how HCPs engage with education.⁷

This time-constrained environment presents several challenges for education designers:

• Cognitive Overload: Many learners experience cognitive overload, which limits their capacity to engage deeply with instructional materials.⁸
• Access Friction: Complicated logins, cumbersome LMS navigation and poor mobile usability create barriers, especially when content access, evaluation and credit claiming are not integrated.⁹
• Timeliness and Relevance: Content must be timely, relevant and aligned with current clinical challenges to bridge the gap between theory and practice.⁴
• Format Fatigue: Many learners report fatigue from the increased number of virtual sessions, which leads to a rapid decline in engagement.¹⁰
• Convenience: Learners’ preferences for medical education have shifted to prioritize convenience, while still expecting credibility and rigor.¹¹

For designers, the implication is clear: provide information that is immediately applicable, easy to access and intentionally engaging. One design strategy to achieve this is through “bite-sized learning.”¹²

Bite-sized and Flexible Learning: 7 Design Principles and Strategies

“Bite-sized” encompasses more than short videos. It describes focused learning activities with a specific goal centered on one decision, skill or concept. Although these formats appear simple, unnecessary elements can easily distract from the learning objective. To maintain focus, clarity and relevance, design with the full learning process and the needs of your audience in mind.

1. Manage Cognitive Load
   • Chunk and Scaffold: Break information into 3-5 key points and progress from simple to more complex skills.^13,14
   • Minimize Clutter: Avoid excessive information by focusing on 1-2 objectives per activity.
2. Ensure Practical Relevance
   • Connect to Patient Impact: Clearly state how the content supports clinical care.
   • Use Realistic Examples: Incorporate cases, vignettes or “day-in-the-life” scenarios to reflect real practice.^15,16
3. Promote Active Learning¹⁷
   • Create Purposeful Engagement: Include purposeful interactions (e.g., quizzes, case-based questions, “What would you do?” prompts) to support retrieval and real-time application.
   • Support Self-direction: Allow flexible navigation instead of enforcing rigid, linear pathways.
   • Apply Spaced Learning: Use brief, repeated practice to reinforce retention of key skills.¹⁸
   • Encourage Reflection: Add reflective prompts (e.g., “How would you apply this in your setting?”) to support transfer of knowledge into practice.^19,20
4. Design for Delivery and Accessibility
   • Design for Mobile Use: Optimize for thumb-friendly navigation, offline access and include captions and transcripts.
   • Reinforce Without Overloading: Repeat only essential points, such as through a companion checklist or brief summary.
   • Use Multimodal Formats: Combine complementary modalities, such as text with visuals or animations with voiceover, to support comprehension.²¹
5. Explore Flexible Format Options
   • Choose and combine formats based on learner needs and context:
     • Interactive micro-modules (10-20 min) with 1-2 knowledge checks
     • Low-fidelity “simulation-lite” scenarios that mirror clinical conversations²²
     • Screen-capture walkthroughs illustrating EHR or workflow processes
     • Mini case scenarios with branching outcomes
     • Podcasts (≤30 min) with actionable takeaways²³
     • Job aids, checklists and infographics in printable/mobile formats
     • Short, action-oriented videos (≤10 min) with practical takeaways
6. Design With Intent
   • Start with the Moment of Need: Identify when and where the information will be used and develop education around that.²⁴
   • Create Meaningful Interaction: Use interactivity purposefully, not excessively.²⁵
   • Provide Structure With Flexibility: Offer a clear, guided structure for content while allowing branching pathways for personalized learning.
   • Maintain Consistency: Use a recognizable format or template so learners know what to expect, reducing friction and enhancing engagement.
7. End with Clear Takeaways
   • Conclude with “What You Can Do Next” bullets.
   • Provide practical resources (e.g., job aids, checklists) that learners can use in practice.
   • Suggest optional next steps, such as guidelines, extended courses or reference materials, for further exploration.

Ensuring Quality and Accountability in Flexible Formats

While flexible and learner-centered, bite-sized learning must still be rigorous. Keep content concise but substantive by ensuring quality from the start. Standardize your instructional framework with a consistent template covering objectives, materials, activities and assessments. Make required elements, such as evaluations and credit claiming processes, seamless. Inline evaluations, single sign-on and cumulative tracking of learning hours all help reduce friction for busy HCPs. Automate recordkeeping for completion, scores and time spent. Involve compliance and QA teams early to ensure accuracy, balance and accreditation compliance.

Before launch, each learning unit should meet the following quality checks:

• SME/Peer Review: Confirm clinical accuracy and alignment with real-world practice.
• Copyediting and Plain Language: Ensure clarity, consistent terminology and an appropriate reading level.
• Accessibility: Include captions, transcripts, alt text, keyboard navigation, screen-reader compatibility and adequate color contrast.²⁶
• Inclusive Design: Use imagery and examples that reflect diverse populations and roles and avoid stigmatizing language.
• Functionality: Verify links, scoring, reporting and mobile performance.
• Before, during and after launch, ensure processes are in place to address governance and maintenance. Given how quickly requirements can change in healthcare education, clear version control is essential. Schedule regular updates to keep materials current and aligned with clinical standards and best practices. This reinforces trust by ensuring learners always access current, accurate information.

Offering CE/CME Credits

Incorporating flexible formats can make credit decisions more complex. Offer credits when formal recognition is required, when you plan to track competence or practice-change data, or when you have partner requirements to meet. If credit is not necessary, non-accredited education can still be impactful. Analyze impact by using metrics such as downloads, views and engagement data. Evaluate the need on a case-by-case basis and consider combining or pairing accredited education and non-accredited education activities as needed.

When Offering Credit, Consider:

• Accreditation Requirements: Ensure the activity meets all relevant accreditation criteria and ACCME Standards, including time thresholds, assessment requirements and the ability to provide required statements and disclosures.
• Learner Experience and Need: Evaluate how the credit process impacts the learner’s experience (such as ease of access, clutter created by required statements or disclosures, and the burden associated with claiming credit or completing evaluations). Also consider whether the type and amount of credit are attractive enough for your target audience to claim credit.
• Organizational Alignment: Confirm the activity aligns with your organization’s accreditation practices to ensure consistent evaluation and accurate credit data.

Designing Education for Today’s Learners

Effective learning activities balance flexibility, practicality and quality. With HCPs managing demanding and unpredictable schedules, education must respect their time while remaining relevant, evidence-based and accessible. In short:

• Design for the Flow of Work: Use bite-sized, scenario-based formats that support real-time decision-making.
• Ensure Relevance and Quality: Keep content intentional, current and connected to patient care.
• Remove Barriers: Simplify access, navigation and credit claiming.
• Be Consistent and Inclusive: Use clear templates and accessibility standards and include examples that reflect diverse patient populations and provider roles.

By keeping the learner at the center and applying these strategies, designers can create education that fits naturally into HCPs’ daily workflows and supports improved patient outcomes.

References

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Disclosure: AI tools (specifically OpenAI's ChatGPT) were used solely for editing and proofreading the article, and the authors reviewed and approved all final content.

Veena Radhakrishnan, EdD, MEd, is the senior director of learning innovation at the American Society of Addiction Medicine, where she leads initiatives in online and technology-enhanced learning. She earned her doctorate from Johns Hopkins University, specializing in instructional design for online teaching and learning, and also holds an MEd in instructional technology. Previously, Veena led the instructional design team at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School. With more than a decade of experience, she focuses on leveraging learning analytics and creating scalable, high-impact learning solutions. She has taught online for several years and has presented widely on instructional design topics at leading edtech conferences.

Caitlyn Keenan, MS, LSSGB, CHCP, is the associate director of accreditation education at the American Society of Addiction Medicine, where she oversees accreditation, certification and the Joint Providership Program. She ensures ASAM’s education complies with ACCME, Joint Accreditation and Maintenance of Certification requirements, and manages the Continuing Education Committee. A self-described CME/CE enthusiast, she is passionate about changing learner behavior, educating staff and joint providers, and satisfying Accreditation criteria. Her philosophy: accreditation should reward outcomes-driven education, not hinder it.

Samantha (Sam) Cribari-Starr, MS, CPTD, serves as the director of professional development at the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), where she leads a collaborative team of staff, subject matter experts, volunteers, and external partners to develop and deliver evidence-based addiction treatment education programs. With more than fifteen years of experience in educational roles, Sam excels in leading, developing, and managing high-quality workforce development programs and conventions. Her expertise spans corporate and non-profit sectors, consistently advancing professional development initiatives that strengthen the skills and knowledge of healthcare professionals. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Purdue University and a master’s degree in organizational performance & workplace learning (OPWL) from Boise State University. She has been enjoying serving on the Almanac Editorial Board, supporting efforts to advance the continuing professional development (CPD) field through thought leadership and shared insights on education, outcomes and leadership.

Megan Moore, MS, is the multimedia manager of learning design and innovation at the American Society of Addiction Medicine, where she leads multimedia initiatives for online learning. She earned her master of science in organizational and workplace learning from Boise State University and also holds a bachelor of science in health and rehabilitation science from The Ohio State University. With over eight years of experience in the healthcare industry, she focuses on maintaining best practices in visually engaging, accessible e-learning to ensure high-quality education for healthcare professionals and the public on the science of medicine.

Gloria Ngu is an instructional design intern with the American Society of Addiction Medicine. She is finishing her master of education in learning, design and technology at the University of Georgia.  She earned her bachelor of education in elementary education from Taylor’s University and has 10 years of experience teaching English in Malaysia and Japan. She is passionate about accessibility and inclusivity in education and is a strong believer in the role of an instructional designer as an advocate for learners.