New home for ‘on the go’ CPD

The beginning of the new continuing professional development (CPD) triennium on 1 January brought with it substantial changes for GPs.
 
The Medical Board of Australia’s (MBA) decision to bring reporting into line with other medical specialties fundamentally altered core aspects of the general practice CPD program, including increased hours and professional development plans.
 
To help manage this transition, the RACGP has launched a new myCPD app that has been developed to let members manage their CPD ‘on the go’, by enabling them to track and browse hundreds of activities, as well as log CPD hours and view their history ‘whenever and wherever’ it suits them.
 
RACGP National Clinical Lead Professor David Wilkinson told newsGP the design process was led by a ‘specialised team’ who spent months refining the user experience and interface, with early feedback suggesting that it has ‘really hit the mark’.
 
Concepts were also regularly tested by GPs, with the intention of making the application as simple and intuitive as possible.
 
‘The app gives members access to their personal CPD home on any device, meaning that their CPD home is literally in their pocket,’ he said.
 
‘Features include biometric login meaning, quick log in for “on the go” CPD and easy evidence recording using the phone’s camera.
 
‘There are also filters to enable members to quickly search activities by their specific interest area. It’s all about reducing the burden of CPD for members.’
 
In addition to developing the app, Professor Wilkinson said the college has been working to help members recognise which activities they perform in everyday practice can be put towards their CPD hours.
 
‘The new requirements actually enable greater flexibility for members,’ he said.
 
‘We’re communicating this with our membership regularly and we are seeing that members are relieved once they realise how they can make these work for their CPD. 
 
‘It’s all about simplicity and member value – CPD is included in RACGP membership.’
 
According to Professor Wilkinson, common activities that can be recognised include practice meetings, peer group learning feedback, and case discussions.
 
‘The college’s in-practice solutions guide outlines … how these can be recognised as CPD across all of the new activity types – Educational Activities [EA], Reviewing Performance [RP] and Measuring Outcomes [MO],’ he said. 
 
‘Doctors can even log activities as a group and all members of that group receive the CPD hours in one simple log.’
 
It is also an MBA requirement for GPs to undertake a Professional Development Plan (PDP) this year, with Professor Wilkinson recommending that all members begin this process via the PDP tool. 
 
And while the app is ready to use now, there are still plans to continue refining it in the years and months ahead.
 
‘We’re asking members for their feedback on the app; how they use it and what features they’d like to see added,’ Professor Wilkinson said.
 
‘We’re keen to keep improving the experience for all members and so updates will be automatically pushed out to keep everyone up to date.’
 
The myCPD app is available on Google Play and the App Store.
 
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