Maintaining competence: a holistic view of continuous professional development

Abstract

AbstractContinuous professional development (CPD) is regarded as an essential component of working life for radiation therapists and is increasingly being used by professional associations to ’prove’ the competence of their members. In the past, CPD activities have primarily been viewed as an individual responsibility, and have focused on maintaining a professional knowledge base and, subsequently, hands-on competency through didactic learning. However, there are drawbacks associated with this model; and concentrating on only one facet of learning ignores other theoretical areas of knowledge acquisition. This article explores several areas of social and organisational theories of learning including social networks, communities of practice, learning organisations, knowledge management, knowledge translation and research utilisation. It is concluded that maintenance of competence after graduation is multilayered and should be viewed in a holistic manner to incorporate some of the relevant elements of the concepts discussed. This article also offers some suggestions for the individual wanting to maximise their educational opportunities beyond traditional models of CPD.