Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36941655›Full record

SynthesisHuman resources for health2023

Evidence for continuing professional development standards for regulated health practitioners in Australia: a systematic review.

Penelope Ann Elizabeth Main, Sarah Anderson

Full text readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Human resources for health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
31citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

31 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  3. Health information managers' engagement in continuing professional development.Health information management : journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors.

Penelope Ann Elizabeth MainResearch and Evaluation Team, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Sarah AndersonResearch and Evaluation Team, Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, Melbourne, VIC, Australia. Sarah.Anderson@ahpra.gov.au.ORCID 0000-0002-9932-3285

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHealth practitioner regulators throughout the world use continuing professional development (CPD) standards to ensure that registrants maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge, expertise and competence. As the CPD standard for most regulated health professions in Australia are currently under review, it is timely that an appraisal of the evidence be undertaken.

methodsA systematic review was conducted using major databases (including MEDLINE, EMBASE, PsycInfo, and CINAHL), search engines and grey literature for evidence published between 2015 and April 2022. Publications included in the review were assessed against the relevant CASP checklist for quantitative studies and the McMaster University checklist for qualitative studies.

resultsThe search yielded 87 abstracts of which 37 full-text articles met the inclusion criteria. The evidence showed that mandatory CPD requirements are a strong motivational factor for their completion and improves practitioners' knowledge and behaviour. CPD that is more interactive is most effective and e-learning is as effective as face-to-face CPD. There is no direct evidence to suggest the optimal quantity of CPD, although there was some evidence that complex or infrequently used skills deteriorate between 4 months to a year after training, depending on the task.

conclusionsCPD is most effective when it is interactive, uses a variety of methods and is delivered in a sequence involving multiple exposures over a period of time that is focused on outcomes considered important by practitioners. Although there is no optimal quantity of CPD, there is evidence that complex skills may require more frequent CPD.

Indexed as

Education, Medical, ContinuingHealth PersonnelAustraliaHealth OccupationsHumansLearningContinuing educationContinuing professional developmente-learningHealth practitionersRegulatory standardsSystematic review

Identifiers

PMID36941655
PMCPMC10026429

What OpenQuestion holds

Textfull text, public
LicenceCC BY
reference markers read1
measurements read19
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.