Continuing Professional Development in Private Health Care Institutions


 


It is a common practice that individuals upgrade their skills even after they graduate.


 


They take up post graduate additional degree, certifications, and even aim for a doctoral


 


degree. This is important for them to be able to gain more knowledge and skills which


 


they can use in their profession. Being a healthcare professional is not exclusion to this


 


reality. There comes a point in a person’s life that an upgrade is necessary for the


 


benefit of yourself and your patients. It may be a difficult situation to come back to study


 


again after years of working and being out of school. The key is to study effectively,


 


manage your time and schedule between medical services work and school hours,


 


however difficult it may seem. After all, your sacrifices are not just for yourself but also


 


for others. There are some countries wherein medical professionals need to gain credit


 


points for them to retain their medical licences. Credit points can be gained through


 


conferences, seminars, courses and other related activities. The aim is for healthcare


 


professionals to have a continuous improvement and for them to be updated with


 


current healthcare advancements. A person’s workplace is considered as part of the


 


learning environment. As the healthcare professional works on a day to day basis, this


 


person continues to encounter similar and new incidences which can greatly improve


 


their skills. As the quality of hospitals and health centres improves continually,


professionals working at these areas are obliged to continually improve also. The cost


 


for gaining these additional knowledge and skills can either be shouldered by the health


 


professional himself or herself or the company where the health professional is working


 


for. Other companies offer to pay a percentage of the tuition for CPD courses. Some of


 


the CPD courses offered are for nurses, pharmacy technicians, pharmacists, radiologist,


 


clinical science lab practitioners and physicians. These individuals make sure they


 


attend conferences on a yearly basis to keep abreast with the current trends in health


 


industry. It is just similar to information technology that there are non-stop changes and


 


improvements every year or even every six months. If you are not aware of the


 


advancements, you will be left out. This is a kind of responsibility that one has to accept


 


wholeheartedly. This is an important strategy to improve resources and health industry


 


as well. Competence of health professionals would be highly improved through CPD.


 


For every individual, commitment and drive to succeed and to help is important.


 


Professional board from different countries also differ in the number of credits required


 


for healthcare professionals to attain on a yearly basis. Healthcare professionals may


 


include practitioners for emergency care, health and anaesthetist’s assistants, lab and


 


medical assistants, dentist’s assistants, medical orthodontist’s assistant, OT and PT


 


assistants, physiotherapy technicians and assistants, speech therapist’s assistant and


 


so on. CPD programme consists of medical, dental & clinical sciences in the following


 


specialties: anaesthesia, dental surgery, otolaryngology, family medicine, internal


 


medicine and more. Anaesthesia includes CPR, BLS, ALS, disaster management,


 


management of acid injuries. Dental Surgery includes dental emergencies, facial


 


trauma, oral manifestations of systemic diseases, common oral diseases,


 


diagnosis of dental pain, restorative dentistry. Otolaryngology includes foreign


 


bodies in ENT, management of epitasis, management of tonsillitis, emergencies in


 


ORL. Family Medicine includes the family in health and diseases, the place of family


 


physicians, management of terminally ill-patient. Internal medicine includes CVA,


 


asthmatic attacks, management of chest pains, diabetic emergencies, ECG, physical


 


examinations, management of poisonings, cardio vascular emergencies. obstetrics &


 


gynaecology includes management of obstetric emergencies, abortions, adolescent


 


reproductive health, post-abortion care, malaria in pregnancy, prevention of mother


 


to child HIV transmission, screening for gynaecological malignancies, contraceptive


 


technology – update. Psychiatry includes recognizing mental illness, neuropsychiatric


 


emergencies, clinical psychology, substance abuse. Pharmacology includes update in


 


pharmacology, rational drug use, ARV therapy. Public Health includes update in


 


management of killer diseases in malaria, tuberculosis and HIV, management of


 


epidemics, PHC, principles of infection prevention and control. Radiology includes


radiological anatomy, radiological findings in trauma, radiological findings in


 


infection. Orthopaedics includes principles of management of common fractures,


 


management of dislocations, assessment of spinal cord injuries. Paediatrics includes


 


classification and management of emergencies in new born, paediatric emergencies,


 


child survival strategies, management principles of preterm. Pathology includes


 


competency in laboratory procedures, quality control and assurance.


 


It should be each health professional’s motive to continually gain best practices and


 


remain competent in their chosen field. This would benefit one’s self, clients, patients,


 


colleagues, community, company you are working for, and even your country.


 


 


 


C A Brown. (2001). Cost effectiveness of continuing professional development in health care: a critical review of the evidence. Available: http://www.bmj.com/content/324/7338/652.full. Last accessed 15th July 2011.


 


Jody Urquhart. (2011). Health care Continuing Professional Development Conferences. Available: http://www.idoinspire.com/blog/bid/35038/Health-care-Continuing-Professional-Development-Conferences. Last accessed 15th July 2011.


 


webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk. (2007). Continuing professional development. Available: http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/+/www.dh.gov.uk/en/Managingyourorganisation/Workforce/EducationTrainingandDevelopment/PostRegistration/DH_4052507. Last accessed 15th July 2011.



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