Continuing Professional Education in Australia: A Tale of Missed Opportunities

A School of Education seminar presented on September 9th, 2015 by Dr Barrie Brennan

The lecture reports the first study in Australia of the origins and development of Continuing Professional Education (CPE), across all the professions.
Relating this tale is difficult because CPE was offered on an individual profession basis and further the professional associations managed its provision. Until 2010 governments had no major role in developing the field. It was an atypical style of vocational education.
The research examines first the origins of the field in the practitioners' own learning. Then the observation that CPE missed many opportunities for acceptance and development is used to structure its emerging tale.
The next stage focuses on three perspectives that illustrate CPE's dcvelopment. They relate to the introduction of Mandatory CPE, the adoption and use of competencies and the issue of professional regulation and registration.
The 2010 national registration of select health-related professions provides an opportunity for significant changes in this area of provision, renamed Continuing Professional Developmemt (CPD). It is argued that this opportunity for the professions is one that must 'not be missed'.
The study concludes with two proposals indicating the range of opportunities and challenges presented by the 2010 National Registration.

Presentation