Illuminating the process: evaluating the impact of continuing professional education on practice

Copyright and Moral Rights for the articles on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. For more information on Open Research Online's data policy on reuse of materials please consult the policies page. INTRODUCTION Changing demographic patterns of disease in countries across the world and the subsequent impact on health service delivery mean that pre-qualifying education can only ever be an initial preparation for healthcare professionals (HCPs). It cannot equip individuals for all the changes that will inevitably occur in a lifetime of professional practice. The impact of global health trends (WHO, 2013), such as the rise in chronic and degenerative conditions and the growing threat of non-communicable diseases (Oxford Martin School, 2013), mean that effective continuing professional education (CPE) 1 is vital to enable HCPs to respond to the needs of contemporary health services. Working in increasingly complex and varied environments, it is essential that HCPs are appropriately educated and supported throughout their careers to develop the knowledge and skills to respond effectively to the needs of patients, service users and the wider public (Taylor et revealed the devastating impact on patient care when healthcare systems and HCPs fail in their duty to maintain high standards of care. In light of the complexity of 21 st century healthcare services, there has been significant global investment in both pre-qualifying healthcare education and CPE to meet current and future needs (Mackinnon Partnership, 2007). The challenge, however, is to ensure this investment is spent wisely to up-skill and retain (Drey et al., 2009) both the current and future workforce. 2013), very little has explored the impact of CPE on practice (Hegney et al., 2010) and there is therefore insufficient convincing evidence to demonstrate that investment in CPE has a tangible impact on practice and patient care (Gijbels et al. This paper aims to contribute to this scant evidence base by examining the processes that key stakeholders – education providers, healthcare organisations, managers and learners – 1 In this paper the term CPE is used to refer to post-registration education with an assessed component. 1 perceive to be most important in facilitating a positive impact of CPE on practice. It will focus on the particular contribution of educators and education providers.