The joys of lifelong learning 

The requirement to undertake CPD benefits us and our patients

I remember that feeling in medical school and as a trainee coming to the last stages of college or membership exams that the finish line was in sight – that was me ‘done now’ and I’d never have to learn anything again.

Of course, I was completely wrong, the informal and formal learning never really stops. Continuous professional development (CPD) is mandated by the Medical Council and has spawned the annual springtime chore of chasing up and logging all the CPD points that you have earned in the last year. Much like how every year I vow to myself that I won’t leave all my tax return admin until October, I vow to myself every year that this time it will be different and I won’t leave doing all my CPD and audit bits until the end of April.

As much as I love to complain about it, I am still that nerdy girl who looked forward to the return of school all summer and started collecting all her new stationery from the start of August. Stretching the mind, learning new ways of doing things, and giving the brain a challenge still feels as good as it did back in the day. I remember in my time as an NCHD we would smugly mock the referral letters from older GPs that addressed emergency department staff as ‘Casualty Officers’ as being hopelessly past it, but I can now see how you can slip into a nice comfy rut once you are in the routine of working life. However, best practices change all the time, medicine is as vulnerable to trends as anything else, and drugs and guidelines go in and out of fashion as quickly as skinny jeans.

Thankfully, there’s a myriad of ways to keep engaged, particularly for us GPs who are scattered all over the country. The Irish College of GPs really stepped up their game during Covid when they started regular webinars to keep people in the loop during such a frightening time. These have since continued along with excellent online courses and learning platforms.

Stretching the mind, learning new ways of doing things, and giving the brain a challenge still feels as good as it did back in the day

However, nothing can beat face-to-face meetings and conferences. The joy of bumping into what’s-his-name from college while trying to juggle a cup of tea and a scone in one hand at the morning break just can’t be replaced. Conferences can be as much of a social occasion as a learning opportunity and I am glad that they still continue in this post-Covid world. I do note with dismay that many are still located in Dublin, which is far less convenient and appealing to those of us who live beyond the M50. It would be nice to see a wider geographic spread across the regions.

More locally, another excellent resource for GPs is continuous medical education meetings, where we get to meet up monthly with colleagues in our area to chat and learn together. These are run by local tutors from the Irish College of GPs, and GPs would not function without their hard work and dedication.

A lot of this can feel like a chore at times. It can be difficult to find the energy to sit in front of an evening Zoom webinar after a long day at work when you just want to veg out on the sofa. It can also feel frustrating to have to constantly keep on top of things – what do you mean the hypertension guidelines have changed again, I only just got my head around the last ones!

As much as it can feel like homework, I do feel that it benefits us and our patients that we are mandated to keep refreshing our clinical practice. Ultimately, it aims to ensure that doctors are engaged with the most current, effective, and safest ways of doing things rather than just being service providers of something they learnt 30 or 40 years ago in medical school.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, this big nerd has to go hop onto a Zoom webinar and do a few online MCQs.