Continuing professional development for psychiatrists: surveying current practice in the UK

Abstract

Continuing professional development (CPD) is a lifelong process that involves enhancing one's knowledge, acquiring new skills and polishing existing skills.1 It requires psychiatrists to maintain, develop and remedy any deficits in their knowledge and skills relevant to their professional work.2 Participation in CPD is central to maintaining standards within clinical governance and has a key role in appraisal and revalidation.3,4 Continuing professional development is an individual exercise but for it to be effective, it needs to be carefully structured, especially in the current changing, policy-driven climate.At the time of the surveys, the Royal College of Psychiatrists had 20 regional CPD coordinators (www.rcpsych.ac.uk/training/cpd/cpdregional.aspx) who were expected to coordinate flows of information on CPD-related matters, assisted by local trust-based CPD coordinators.Participation in a peer group is a key element of the College CPD policy. 5 The purpose of the peer group is to review each member's personal development plan (PDP), ensure its appropriateness, and identify practical ways in which the agreed objectives can be met. At the end of the annual CPD cycle, a member of the peer group then

How Psychiatrists Continue To Learn: Operations and Practices of Continuous Professional Development Peer Groups

“…There appeared to be a high level (90%) of participation by eligible doctors, represented by groups, in formal continuous professional development through enrolment with the Royal College of Psychiatrists' continuous professional development programme. This finding is similar to a previous study conducted amongst UK Psychiatrists (Bamrah et al, 2011). The Royal College of Psychiatrists, at the time of this study, expected that groups should consist of 3 to 6 members.…”