Introduction
The ongoing demand for meaningful Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a well-understood aspect of a busy GP's life in the UK. It's essential for maintaining high standards of care, meeting revalidation requirements, and fostering personal professional growth. However, finding the time not just for CPD activities themselves, but for the efficient gathering of information to support genuine, impactful reflection can be a significant hurdle. This is where iatroX can act as a valuable upstream tool to support your "GP CPD" workflow, helping you quickly access guideline information that enriches your reflective entries on established CPD platforms like FourteenFish or GPnotebook.
The modern GP's CPD landscape
The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) outlines the importance of ongoing learning, reflection, and professional development. Most UK GPs will be familiar with using dedicated platforms to manage and record their CPD activities. Popular choices include FourteenFish, the CPD section of GPnotebook, Medscape UK CPD, and Agilio Clarity CPD (formerly Agilio, which incorporated the Clarity appraisal toolkit). Alongside these portfolio-building tools, many clinicians engage with structured learning modules from providers such as BMJ Learning, Red Whale GP Update, NB Medical, or other specialised courses.
While these platforms and providers offer excellent frameworks and content, a substantial portion of valuable CPD stems from the clinical questions and challenges encountered in our day-to-day practice.
Bridging the gap: from clinical query to CPD entry with iatroX
Everyday clinical questions are prime material for CPD. A patient presents with a condition you haven't managed recently, a query about a new medication arises, or you wonder about the latest NICE guidance on a particular symptom. These moments are opportunities for learning.
This is where iatroX can streamline the "information gathering" phase of your informal CPD cycle:
- The scenario: You've just seen a patient with Type 2 Diabetes who is asking about second-line options after metformin, as their HbA1c remains above target. You want to quickly refresh your memory on the latest NICE recommendations.
- iatroX in action: During a brief gap or immediately after the consultation, you use iatroX to perform an instant search: "NICE guidelines T2DM second line after metformin." iatroX helps you rapidly locate the relevant section of the guideline.
- Informed decision & learning: This quick access allows you to consider the appropriate, evidence-based options and discuss them confidently if the patient is still present, or to inform your management plan.
- Connecting to reflective practice: Later that day, or when you allocate time for CPD, you decide to log this as a learning event. Because you used iatroX, you already have the specific guideline information fresh in your mind, or can quickly recall your search. Instead of needing to hunt down the guideline again, you can focus on the reflection:
- "Clinical encounter: Patient with T2DM needing medication review. Used iatroX to quickly confirm current NICE guideline recommendations for second-line therapy. This clarified options X and Y. Impact: Ensured patient discussion was based on up-to-date guidance. Learning point: Noted the emphasis on cardiovascular risk factor co-management alongside glycaemic control in the updated guideline. Will incorporate this more explicitly in future reviews." (This could then be logged on FourteenFish or your preferred platform).
This process transforms a potentially time-consuming post-hoc search into an efficient, integrated learning experience. The focus shifts from information hunting to genuine reflection on how the new or confirmed knowledge impacts your practice.
Enhancing your existing CPD activities
iatroX isn't just for on-the-spot queries that turn into CPD; it can also complement your formal learning:
- Supporting structured learning: Perhaps you've attended a Red Whale webinar where a specific NICE guideline was mentioned. You can use iatroX to quickly pull up that guideline for a deeper dive or to save key points relevant to your practice.
- Fueling "further learning": Many CPD entries require you to identify further learning needs. If a clinical query or a learning module sparks interest in a related area, iatroX can be used to efficiently explore those associated "NICE guidelines" or "BNF" entries. For instance, if you log a learning event about managing hypertension, you might use iatroX to explore CKS summaries on related lifestyle advice to deepen your knowledge for the "further learning" section of your CPD entry on GPnotebook CPD.
- Evidence for appraisals: Demonstrating how you access and apply current guidelines is a key part of appraisal and revalidation. Noting the use of tools like iatroX to ensure your practice is evidence-based can strengthen your portfolio.
While dedicated "medical CPD apps" and modules from sources like BMJ Learning, Medscape UK, or courses from Red Whale GP Update and NB Medical provide essential structured learning, iatroX effectively supports the equally vital element of your "keeping updated GP" efforts that arise from daily clinical practice.
The clinician is always in control of their learning
It's important to reiterate that iatroX is a tool to support information access. The GP drives the learning process, the critical appraisal of information, the reflection on its application to their practice, and the ultimate clinical decision-making. iatroX aims to make the information retrieval aspect of this cycle more efficient.
Conclusion
In the busy world of general practice, every minute counts. Integrating quick information retrieval tools like iatroX into your workflow can make the entire CPD process more efficient, timely, and impactful. It helps ensure that the valuable learning opportunities arising from daily clinical encounters are captured and reflected upon meaningfully, feeding directly into the systems and platforms like FourteenFish, GPnotebook CPD, or Agilio Clarity CPD that GPs already use for tracking and reflection. As technology evolves, iatroX continues to explore ways to further support clinicians in their lifelong learning and professional development, potentially offering even more integrated solutions for the CPD journey in the future.