The challenge - developing CPD that works.

Does CPD matter? Is it simply about maintaining compliance and keeping a provider number? The answer is yes and no, respectively. So, if that’s true, where does CPD fit within the current reforms in GP training?

There is a plethora of CPD programs available to healthcare practitioners: online, face-to-face, distance, hardcopy and a blend of all these methods, offered by numerous industry-sponsored and not-for-profit organisations. Some are better than others. Whilst high priority areas such as ‘closing the gap’, ‘cultural competence’ and more recently domestic violence are receiving the attention and funding they deserve, there is a risk that other equally important areas are being overlooked.

This potential imbalance could lead to gaps in healthcare practitioners’ education and importantly, impact negatively on patient care. Healthcare practitioners need the continuing professional support to manage the often complex health needs of their patients and their communities.

All CPD programs should address the following:

·         Be based on the education and training need (of the practitioner)

·         Actively engage practitioners in life-long learning

·         Be relevant and useful to daily practice (integration with the needs of patients and clients)

·         Be delivered in readily accessible and flexible formats that respond to the demands of the practitioner wherever he/she may be located.

If quality CPD is about enabling practitioners to deliver the best possible care, then quality improvement is key. It remains to be seen as to how quality is to be built into the new reforms and the subsequent impact on clinical integration with patients.

Both should be high priorities going forward.

Equity of access remains a significant determinant of the extent to which CPD is effective within the healthcare professions and for many, the tyranny of distance in Australia’s healthcare landscape is an ever-present reality and barrier to this essential learning.  Ideally, every practitioner whether based in metropolitan Sydney or on Thursday Island, should have equal access to quality CPD.

Accessible, quality CPD requires a genuine commitment of Government, secure funding, innovative thinking and practical application.

The current training reforms offer an opportunity to seriously address the following questions:

·         What sort of CPD will be required in the future?

·         How will this be integrated into the reforms to training?

·         What types of CPD activity can continue to exist, and by extension, what innovations need to be developed?

While the Government is implementing changes to the GP training space in Australia, it must also consider an aligned CPD strategy. This approach ensures that there are mechanisms in place to support practitioner engagement in readily accessible learning to enable them to continue to deliver the best care (best practice) to all of their patients and communities.