Physicians in Conversation

When Continuing Professional Development (CPD) becomes a solo exercise in box-ticking, we can lose sight of the fact that collective intelligence can help drive excellence. The antidote to this professional isolation is collegial conversation.

Hallway conversations, passing remarks around the coffee cart and end-of-meeting debriefs can often be catalysts for the informal learning and professional growth that shape careers just as powerfully as structured education.

These informal exchanges are not distractions from education; they are education.

What insights on the practice of CPD can be gathered when you bring together physicians across different career stages and specialties?

In the Continuing Conversations series, we explore individual approaches to CPD and through the spirit of shared learning uncover practices that not only enhance professional development but also help shape career pathways.

“Recognising the power of everyday exchanges between physicians, this series places conversations between physicians at its centre. Through discussions that explore clinical practice, career stages, and backgrounds we explore the ideas, experiences and insights that shape CPD and professional growth,” said Nicole Willico, RACP Executive General Manager, Professional Practice.

“These candid conversations reveal that some of the most valuable CPD outcomes emerge not from sitting alone with educational content, but from engaging with colleagues, exchanging perspectives and reflecting on the challenges and opportunities of practice together. They highlight the many ways learning occurs beyond formal courses and educational activities, and through physicians’ everyday activities and practice,” she added.

By sharing experiences with colleagues who understand the complexities of modern practice, physicians gain new perspectives, challenge assumptions and uncover practical tools that can be applied immediately to their CPD practice.

“Throughout the course of these conversations we learn about how the approach to CPD changes as careers grow and develop and how approaching CPD with a different lens that simply a compliance activity for medical registration can create better outcomes for patients and better clinical practice,” said Ms Willico.

“We also hear about activities of normal practice can be recorded as CPD, particularly around 360 reviews (CPD Category 2) and auditing health data (CPD Category 3). Great tips and tricks are also shared, for example having the RACP MyCPD platform bookmarked on your phone to make it easier to record CPD on the go, such as after listening to a Pomegranate Health podcast,” she added.

From seasoned physicians who carry a mental library of advice that can be passed down from colleagues during moments of clinical uncertainty, to mid-career physicians who are being handed the baton of mentorship, and early career physicians who are transitioning to self-managed CPD, there are lessons to be learnt and shared. This series serves as a reminder that while learning may be recorded individually, it is often enriched collectively.