The need for effective continuing professional development (CPD) in music education is outlined and literature on CPD for generalist teachers and teaching assistants is reviewed. A small qualitative study is then presented that took advantage of a music-making project led by folk musicians in six special schools in England. This study focused on the generalist teaching staff who actively supported their pupils to participate. The staff reported that their own confidence in working musically had increased, as had their awareness of the importance of music for children. It is suggested that these outcomes were achieved through incidental CPD, potentially paving the way for further, deliberate CPD.

Mainstream psychiatric practice requires a solid grounding in neuroscience, an important part of the biopsychosocial model, allowing for holistic person-centred care. There have been repeated calls for better integration of neuroscience into training, although so far with less focus on implementation for life-long learning. We suggest that such training should be accessible and utilised by all psychiatrists, not solely those with a special interest in neuropsychiatry. By considering recent positive developments within the general psychiatry curricula and neuropsychiatric resource implementation, we propose strategies for how this can be progressed, minimising regional disparities within the growing world of virtual learning.

The outgoing Editor in Chief of BJPsych Advances considers the 30-year history of the journal, outlining its development from a slim four-paper issue to an authoritative publication offering blended learning approaches for consultant psychiatrists and also for trainees preparing for their examinations.

Introduction: Procedural skills are a key component of an emergency physician's practice. The Edmonton Zone is a health region that comprises eleven tertiary, urban community and rural community emergency departments (EDs) that represents over three hundred emergency physicians. We report the initial stakeholder and site leadership needs assessment used to inform the development of a comprehensive continuing professional development (CPD) procedural skills curriculum for the Edmonton Zone. Methods: A list of procedural skills was distributed to the two Edmonton Zone Clinical Department Heads of Emergency Medicine (EM). This list was based on a previous Canadian study that utilized procedures from the Objectives of Training in EM. Based on perceived needs, twenty-five procedures were chosen by consensus from zone leadership and study authors as the initial focus for a skills curriculum. This list was sent via survey to the physician site leads of all EDs in the zone. Each site lead was asked to indicate the fifteen procedure curriculum they felt would most benefit their respective physician groups. Responses were collated to look at all departments as a group and stratified by the type of ED (tertiary, urban and rural community). Results: Every site chief of Edmonton Zone EDs completed the survey (100% response rate). Cricothyrotomy and pediatric intubation were the two procedures prioritized by every site. One procedure (ultrasound guided central lines) was prioritized by 10/11 sites while three procedures (ultrasound guided central lines, adult intubation and chest tube insertion) were specified by 9/11 sites as needs. Two procedures (pericardiocentesis and thoracotomy) were named as priorities only by tertiary centers. Conversely, three procedures (extensor tendon repair, anterior and posterior nasal packing) were highlighted by all rural sites, but not consistently by any urban sites. Conclusion: Over the next few years, competency-based CPD will emerge for physicians in practice. Our preliminary needs assessment showed that while a common zone-wide curriculum will be possible, targeted curricula tailored to the unique needs of the various types of EDs will also be necessary. This has implications for the resources and teaching requirements needed to deliver effective and recurring CPD courses to an entire health region. A targeted needs assessment to all Edmonton Zone physicians will be the next step to verify and further elaborate on these preliminary results.

Innovation Concept: Emergency medicine physicians must maintain a broad knowledge base and procedural skillset while fulfilling their academic roles as teachers, researchers and administrators. Most academic departments do not have a regular, affordable, formal continuing professional development (CPD) and faculty development (FD) curriculum for their staff. We set out to design and implement a novel continuous practice enhancement program to address this issue. Methods: Strategic planning by the Ottawa academic Department of EM identified CPD and FD as priorities. A program was created to support high quality, monthly CPD/FD courses provided by physicians. We had 5 goals: (1) enhance clinical and academic skills, (2) disseminate group best practices, (3) sustain skills in high impact/low frequency scenarios, (4) support physician academic careers, and (5) acquire new procedural skills. A CPD/FD Committee composed of local meded experts and experienced clinical teachers was tasked with overseeing the creation and evaluation of these sessions. Curriculum, Tool or Material: The longitudinal curriculum was informed by perceived needs (group survey), ascribed needs (M&M rounds, physician metrics and departmental leadership priorities) and participant feedback. The committee identified local experts to present on their areas of expertise in order to promote group best practice. Topics to-date have included clinical skills updates, teaching and coaching strategies and academic career planning. A comprehensive monthly simulation-based curriculum was rolled out simultaneously to give participants the opportunity to develop crisis resource management and critical care skills. Except for sessions requiring advanced equipment or cadavers, sessions are financed by academic funds and free for participants. Conclusion: Faculty academic learning and engagement is an important goal and participation in this curriculum is reviewed at each physician's annual reappointment. To-date, 18 physicians (21% of our group) have presented topics and 92% of physicians have participated in at least one session with 63% having attended three or more. Evaluations have been overwhelmingly positive, and a recent survey identified the CPD/FD program as a significant contributor to our physicians’ wellness. We introduced an innovative, structured CPD/FD program in response to perceived and ascribed needs of our physicians and departmental leadership. Our successful CPD/FD curriculum represents a model for other departments who are considering similar initiatives.

Introduction: Capitalizing on the success of Simulation-Based Education (SBE) in residency-training programs, simulation has been gradually integrated into Continued Professional Development (CPD) programs for Emergency Physicians (EPs) in Canada. This study sought to characterize how Canadian academic emergency medicine (EM) departments have implemented SBE for CPD. Methods: We conducted two national surveys: 1) the National Faculty Simulation Status Assessment Survey, administered by telephone to the simulation directors (or equivalent) at 20 Canadian academic EM sites and 2) the Faculty Simulation Needs Assessment Survey administered online to all full-time EPs across 9 Canadian academic EM sites. Results: The response rates for the National Status and Needs Assessment Surveys were 100% (20/20), and 40% (252/635), respectively. The majority (60%) of Canadian academic EM sites reported utilizing SBE for CPD, though only 30% reported dedicated funding support. EPs reported participating in a median of 3 hours per year of SBE (IQR 1-6 hours). Reported incentivization offered in the form of continued medical education credits varied between simulation directors (67%) and EPs (44%). Simulation directors identified several significant barriers to SBE including a lack of faculty time, fear of peer judgment, and faculty inexperience. In contrast, EP-identified barriers included time commitments outside of shift, lack of opportunities, and lack of departmental. The three most common topics of interest for SBE by EPs were performance of rare procedures, pediatric resuscitation, and neonatal resuscitation. Interprofessional involvement in SBE CPD was valued by both simulation directors and EPs, with most EPs (79%) indicating it is useful. Conclusion: Most Canadian EPs and simulation directors recognize the value of SBE for CPD, yet it is only utilized, infrequently, by 67% of Canadian academic EM departments for this purpose. This may be explained, in part, by poor incentivization for participation. Simulation directors and EPs noted different barriers to SBE implementation for CPD suggesting the need for dialogue to improve utilization. As SBE for CPD is incorporated more frequently, and at more sites, content should be guided by local needs assessments with an emphasis on interprofessional participation.

Introduction: Maintaining and enhancing competence in the breadth of Emergency Medicine (EM) is an ongoing challenge for all clinicians. In particular, resuscitative care in EM involves high-stakes clinical encounters that demand strong procedural skills, effective leadership, and up-to-date knowledge. However, Canadian emergency physicians are not required to complete any specific ongoing training for these encounters beyond general CPD requirements of professional colleges. Simulation-based medical education (SBME) is an effective modality for enhancing technical (e.g. procedural) and non-technical (i.e. Crisis Resource Management) skills in crisis situations, and has been embedded in undergraduate and postgraduate medical curricula worldwide. We present a novel comprehensive curriculum of simulation-based CPD designed specifically for academic emergency physicians (AEPs) at our centre. Methods: The curriculum development involved a departmental needs assessment survey, focus groups with AEPs, data from safety metrics and critical incidents, and consultations with senior departmental leadership. Institutional support was provided in the form of a $25,000 grant to fund a physician Program Lead, monthly session instructors, and simulation centre operating costs. Based on the results of the needs assessment, a two-year curriculum was mapped out and tailored to the available resources. Results: CPD simulation commenced in January 2017 and occurs monthly for three hours, immediately following departmental Grand Rounds to provide convenient scheduling. Our needs assessment identified two key types of educational needs: (1) Crisis Resource Management skills and (2) frequent practice of high-stakes critical care procedures (e.g. central lines). The first six months of implementation was dedicated to low-fidelity skills labs to facilitate the transition to SBME. After this, the program transitioned to a hybrid model involving two high-fidelity simulated resuscitations and one skills lab per session. Conclusion: We have introduced a comprehensive curriculum of ongoing simulation-based CPD in our department based on the educational needs of our AEPs. Key to our successful implementation has been support from educational and administrative leadership within our department. Ongoing challenges include securing adequate protected time from clinical duties for program facilitators and participants. Future work will include establishing permanent funding, CPD accreditation, and a formal program evaluation.

Introduction: Tertiary care emergency departments (EDs) in large urban environments may have a low volume of high acuity pediatric presentations due to their proximity to dedicated childrens hospitals or large community centres. This may lead to discomfort among emergency physicians (EPs) and registered nurses (RNs) in managing these patients and a waning of knowledge and skills for this unique population. Among the EP group at our institution, 68% indicated they managed pediatric patients in less than 25% of their shifts, 68% also indicated they were uncomfortable managing an undifferentiated critically unwell neonate and only 32% indicated they would be comfortable teaching pediatric topics to emergency medicine residents. At our institution, our innovation was to create a useful curriculum for certified EPs and RNs to improve the interdisciplinary teams comfort level, knowledge and skill set when managing pediatric emergencies. Methods: A needs assessment was undertaken of the EPs and RNs working in our centre. This information was used to develop intended learning outcomes in a collaborative manner with the clinical nursing educator and physician curriculum leads. The team further collaborated with the local simulation centre and a pediatric emergency physician from the local childrens hospital. Results: A one-year, three-module curriculum was developed to cover the areas felt to be highest yield by the EP group: febrile illness, respiratory disease and critically ill neonates and infants. Each module contains three components: an in person interactive lecture delivered by an EP who routinely manages pediatric patients, either at a childrens hospital or large community centre; an online component with e-mail blasts of high yield pediatric content; and, culminating in an interdisciplinary interdepartmental simulation held in situ. This latter is particularly important so that all members of the interdisciplinary team can practice finding and using equipment based on its actual location within the ED. Each component of each module is then evaluated by the participants to ensure improvement for subsequent delivery. Conclusion: Well delivered continuing professional development (CPD) will become increasingly important as competence by design becomes the model for maintenance of certification. Maintaining skills for pediatric patients is an important component of CPD for physicians working in general emergency departments that see a low volume of high acuity pediatric presentations. Our curriculum seeks to address this identified need in an innovative manner using a modular and interdisciplinary approach with a diversity of teaching methods to appeal to the learning styles among our health care team.

Introduction / Innovation Concept: Rural emergency physicians often work alone, and identify higher needs for continuing professional development in emergency medicine (EM) than urban doctors. We have offered the Community Emergency Medicine Outreach program (CEMO) at 12 rural hospitals in Eastern Ontario since 2009. Each emergency team selects topics in Adult EM for discussion at half-day outreach sessions at their local hospital. Methods: The CEMO program director participated in a Masters of Health Professions Education program. Newly learned concepts were applied to further the development of CEMO. Curriculum, Tool, or Material: Five important lessons learned, and their impacts on CEMO: First, curriculum design is a dynamic process. While CEMO was originally developed for physicians, the program has attracted many participants from other disciplines including nurses, administrators, pharmacists, and learners. Content and delivery have been redesigned to enhance inter-professional learning, which promotes team harmony, local problem solving, and knowledge translation into practice. Second, learning must be highly relevant to the local context to be effective. The content of each CEMO session is tailored to each group’s perceived and ascribed learning needs. CEMO is informed by sociocultural, transformative, experiential and cognitivist learning theories. Teaching strategies include interactive discussion of locally encountered clinical cases, and simulation. Third, it is more effective to integrate new technologies into a larger curriculum than to offer them as stand-alone modules. CEMO incorporates innovative presentation software, screencasts, procedural videos, and online audience response systems to engage participants. Fourth, learning effectiveness is best measured using multiple sources of assessment, and multiple assessments over time. CEMO’s learner assessment strategies include self-reflection at sessions, and months later. Participants consider CEMO’s effects on their practice, including reactions of co-workers and patients to their new skills, knowledge and behaviours. Finally, program evaluation may take many forms, and begins with defining evaluation goals and questions. We have developed a program logic model for CEMO, and a combined process and outcome evaluation is in progress. Conclusion: The application of important educational concepts promotes the design of effective continuing education in emergency medicine for rural health professionals.

Background: This review presents an overview of the published literature on the effectiveness of continuing professional education (CPE), which includes continuing medical education (CME) of different health care professionals in healthcare settings, for improving patient management and patient outcomes. This review summarizes key articles published on the subject, including those relating to dementia care.

Methods: A literature search was carried out using the National Library of Medicine's PubMed database, Cochrane database and Eric databases.

Results: Studies on CPE generally provide conflicting evidence on their effectiveness in bringing about a change in professional practices and healthcare outcomes. However interactive, multifaceted interventions, and interventions with repeated inputs appear more effective in bringing about positive changes than traditional non-interactive techniques. There are relatively few studies specifically concerning CPE and dementia care.

Conclusion: This review shows that CPE in dementia care needs to be targeted carefully. Much can be learnt from examining education approaches in the wider professional and medical education literature.

This review article aims to address the paucity of information regarding professional portfolio development for therapeutic radiographers. It will review briefly the current literature regarding continuous professional development (CPD) for therapeutic radiographers and add to the on going debate regarding the monitoring and enforcement of a mandatory CPD scheme. It will recapitulate the applications of professional development portfolios and equip therapeutic radiographers with the basic knowledge and skills to undertake the process of portfolio development, ultimately leading to a product that provides evidence of CPD.

The purpose of this paper is twofold; firstly, to present for wider consideration data collected about the role of information and support radiographers (ISRs) in the United Kingdom and secondly, to review critically issues of significance arising from the initial data collection and content analysis.

The empirical material is taken from a much larger survey of Oncology Centres1 whose aim was to analyse the extent and effectiveness of information and support services for cancer patients in order to evaluate service provision in a less developed country. A short, self completed postal questionnaire to identified information and support radiographers was employed. It sought to identify the main components of the ISR role, underpinning qualifications, limitations and potential for development. 64% of ISRs surveyed responded (n = 22) and the findings are presented for consideration in this paper.

The discussion comprises a critical review by the first author of some issues raised by the findings in the context of the national service framework for integrated provision2 and current developments in the practice and processes of therapeutic radiography. Specifically, the relative contribution of different aspects of the role of the ISR are evaluated, examining the benefits to patients and professionals alike. The difficulties of trailblazing a new role in a traditional, hierarchical service are explored. The necessity of a profession specific base for information and support provision in clinical oncology is questioned and it is suggested that, professionally, there are both advantages and disadvantages to this role development, but there is support for a less predatory, more interprofessional approach.

Canada has no formal training program in disaster medicine for health care professionals. The University of Alberta’s Division of Emergency Medicine has developed a means to fill the gap. Disaster Medicine Online (DMO) is an Internet-based, interactive, facilitator-guided distance-learning course on the fundamentals of disaster medicine. The 3-week pilot of DMO was offered in March 2002 and taken by a multidisciplinary group of 22 health care professionals, including resident and attending physicians, paramedics and nurses. Evaluation of the learning materials and educational methodology by experts and learners demonstrated a high degree of satisfaction with the Web interface, site usability, lesson content and format, and the interactive components of the online course. Learners reported spending a mean of 11.2 hours (range = 5–20) over the 3-week course period. Twenty of 22 learners completed the final assignment, and all 20 were successful in passing the course. Overall, 95% of learners said they would pursue another module if offered, and 100% would recommend DMO to their colleagues. DMO is a viable option for health care professionals who would like to pursue continuing medical education in this area without having to take time out of their personal and professional lives to travel to a face-to-face, traditional educational program.