Complexities of Continuing Professional Development in Context

Researchers assessed how clinical coaching programs affect physicians in terms of the goals they pursue through such programs and how context impacts these objectives. The study involved two clinical coaching programs for 15 rural physicians, who participated in semistructured interviews. The physicians communicated a range of desired practice changes extending from refining current practice to gaining new skills outside of their current practice. Meanwhile, suggested changes ranged from those targeting individual physicians to those focusing on the practice system. Factors in the learning/practice environment — including those relating to the individual coachee, coach, and learning/practice context — influenced the desired changes. The outcomes suggest that gaining knowledge via continuing professional development (CPD) may overlook valuable lessons concerning changes in practice and systems. In addition, write the authors, "an appreciation of the contextual nature of CPD can ensure that contextual affordances are leveraged and barriers are acknowledged."

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