A pilot study was made of the continuing education of physicians on the staff of a private, medium-sized, nonteaching, short-stay general hospital in the Midwest. Among the steps involved were analysis of hospital records, observation of meetings and educational programs, a questionnaire survey, and interviews with physicians as well as selected administrators and related hospital personnel. Internal educational inputs, defined as information transmitted through formal education in the hospital or informal educational contacts between doctors, were evaluated in terms of use, value, and accessibility. Findings included the following: (1) doctors spent an average of 39 hours a month in continuing education (33 for general practitioners, 43 for specialists); (2) reading was the leading method in use, value, and accessibility; (3) the educational influentials were younger specialists who spent more time in continuing education, relied more on written sources of information, participated more in hospital meetings, and attended more formal postgraduate programs sponsored by national medical organizations. An attempt was made to formulate questions for further study of educational influentials and of the educational interaction of hospital physicians. (author/ly)