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Background and purpose The way health professionals consume that informal professional education is changing. Physiotherapists are relying more on using electronic sources of information, including social media, to answer clinical questions. This study aims to identify the sources of electronic information physiotherapists in New Zealand use within their informal professional education. Methods A cross‐sectional survey of 203 physiotherapists and physiotherapy students was undertaken at the National Physiotherapy New Zealand Conference in 2018. Results One hundred and seventy nine participated in the survey providing a response rate of 88%. Median engagement in electronic professional learning was 1–3 h per week (82/179, 47%). Search engines were the most frequently used resource for accessing professional learning (171/179, 98%). Electronic Journal articles and webinars were seen as the most useful electronic learning resources. Social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook, were used less frequently. Just over half (94/179, 53%) of participants in the survey reported to regularly critically appraising information. Conclusion Physiotherapists in New Zealand embark on a significant amount of electronic professional learning. Electronic journal articles are seen as the most valuable resource. Critical appraisal of learning material was not always completed by physiotherapists when consuming informal professional education.

Background: Accurate diagnosis of carpal tunnel syndrome is key to successful treatment. At our center a treatment pathway was recently established for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome. Within this pathway patients are assessed by their community practitioner. Patients who fail to improve with conservative treatment and have a positive nerve conduction study are put forward for surgery without a specialist assessment. Recent literature has shown nerve conduction study may produce a high rate of false-positive results when used to diagnose carpal tunnel syndrome. The aim of this study was to retrospectively review outcomes of carpal tunnel decompression surgery in patients whose diagnoses was based on a community practitioner assessment and positive nerve conduction study. Methods: All patients who had carpal tunnel release surgery between August 1, 2017 and August 31, 2018 at our center were screened for eligibility. Data from hospital records and a standardized telephone questionnaire was used to assess surgical outcome. Results: The final study population included 128 operated hands. The mean follow up time after surgery was 9.6 months. We found 79% of patients reported significant improvement of their symptoms following carpal tunnel release. The overall complication rate was 2.3%. Conclusion:This study has demonstrated good outcomes from carpal tunnel decompressive surgery are possible in a cohort of patients whose diagnosis was made on the basis of a positive nerve conduction study and community practitioner assessment.