'The Genie Is Out of the Bottle': A Qualitative Study on the Impact of COVID-19 on Continuing Professional Development

BMC Medical Education (06/06/2024) Soklaridis, Sophie; Shier, Rowen; Zaheer, Rabia; et al.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced a rapid shift in the way continuing professional development (CPD) activities were offered, moving from mostly in-person learning to more novel methods. Researchers sought to obtain CPD leaders' perspectives on how the pandemic affected trends and innovations in CPD and how it might change going forward. Between April and September of 2022, they conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 CPD leaders in the United States and Canada. The interviews yielded six primary themes on how the pandemic affected CPD: necessity impacted innovation, the paradox of flexibility and accessibility, the change has happened so there is no going back, reimagining design and delivery, creating an evaluative culture and a lifeline in times of turmoil. The researchers note "the pandemic created opportunities to reform design and delivery," even though there were many challenges as well. The authors also stress the need "to maintain an innovative culture to best support learners, to improve the healthcare system and to prepare for future emergencies."

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