Continuing Professional Education

For most of us, who are professionals, our time is ticking away, putting pressure on us to keep ourselves up to date with the latest in our field of knowledge. 

I am currently at a professional meeting for two days to listen and be better informed about what is current in my speciality. I have listened to some fascinating lectures and demonstrations. At the same time, there are some presentations which made me feel unsettled. There is so much of self promotion, assertion, criticism of others or other approaches that I felt that some of us like only what we do or think as we grow in our understanding and knowledge. Yes, Knowledge can puff us up. 

I too feel sometimes driven by this professional clock, that seems to threaten that, 'if you are not up to date, you will be left behind'. Others seem to decide the pace and profile you are expected to keep. Should it be so!

I listened to a lecture by a senior consultant who has methodically kept record of his 30 years of work, a summary of which he presented yesterday. He did not publish extensively as he could have done, considering that he has some original work to his credit. He is less known or quoted, but he came across as one who advanced his professional education by his personal pursuit of observation, referring to the literature, corresponding with others to check and clarify and maintaining record of his work as an evidence of what he has done. He travelled less and  published less, but communicated much informally to his colleagues and students. From the applause he received, I realised that he too was valued for his contribution.

Let me suggest that each professional ought to have a personal professional development plan, that suits him or her. Although conferences can be one easy way of keeping oneself well informed, let me suggest  that reading literature can be a good habit to keep us stimulated and directed. 

How do we read when the literature is voluminous! What I have found useful is to read about the clinical condition that I have come across at work, which involves setting apart an hour or so,  three times a week. Let this be included as part of our schedule at work, while we are still in our place of work.

Let me dissuade you from taking professional work home. Let home remain as a sanctuary for leisure and relationships!

As I have been in a position of responsibility for about thirty years now, I could encourage my colleagues to take a half day break every week from their regular work during the working hours, to set apart for personal professional updates. The other thing I have encouraged was to write anecdotal stories of clinical scenarios, or annotations if formal planned clinical studies looked too demanding. Some who did this could use it later to communicate widely through presentations or publications. 

Our reading and writing ought to go hand in hand. Le it it be a personal discipline and commitment we make to ourselves. In fact history is made through such valuable observations. 

Dr. Keith Sanders, while working at Raxaul, Bihar in the Mission Hospital, during the late sixties and early seventies,  demonstrated the value of using intrathecal anti-tetanaus serum in the treatment of tetanus, which became an approved form of treatment because he kept meticulous record and shared his  annotations among his friends. It was one of his friends, who then got this important finding published formally.

Learning is becoming!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)