Elements and Definitions of Continuing Professional Development Leadership: A Scoping Review

Morag Paton; Victor Do; Tharshini Jeyakumar; Jerry M Maniate; Walter Tavares; Suzan Schneeweiss; David Wiljer

doi:10.1097/CEH.0000000000000520

Elements and Definitions of Continuing Professional Development Leadership: A Scoping Review

J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2023 Jun 29. doi: 10.1097/CEH.0000000000000520. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Morag Paton¹, Victor Do, Tharshini Jeyakumar, Jerry M Maniate, Walter Tavares, Suzan Schneeweiss, David Wiljer

Affiliation

¹ Dr. Paton: Education Research Coordinator, Continuing Professional Development, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Do: Paediatrics Resident Physician, Hospital for Sick Children and the Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Ms. Jeyakumar: Education Specialist, Digital Education, University Health Network, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Maniate: Associate Professor, Division of General Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine & Department of Innovation in Medical Education (DIME), University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Researcher, Bruyere Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Founding Director, Equity in Health Systems Lab. Dr. Tavares: Scientist, Wilson Centre for Health Professions Education Research, Temerty Faculty of Medicine and University Health Network; Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Society, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada and Department of Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dr. Schneeweiss: Associate Dean, Continuing Professional Development, Temerty Faculty of Medicine; and Professor, Department of Paediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto. Dr. Wiljer: Academic Director, Continuing Professional Development, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto; Executive Director, Education Technology and Innovation, University Health Network; and Professor, Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

PMID: 37389487
DOI: 10.1097/CEH.0000000000000520

Abstract

Introduction: Leaders are being asked to transform the way that continuing professional development (CPD) is delivered to focus on better, safer, and higher quality care. However, there is scarce literature on CPD leadership. We set out to study what CPD leadership means and describe the competencies required for CPD leadership.

Methods: A scoping review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses extension guidelines for scoping reviews guidelines was conducted. With librarian support, four databases were searched for publications related to leadership, medical education, and CPD. Publications were screened by two reviewers and three reviewers extracted data.

Results: Among 3886 publications, 46 were eligible for a full-text review and 13 met the final inclusion criteria. There was no agreed upon definition of CPD leadership and variable models and approaches to leadership in the literature. Contextual issues shaping CPD (eg, funding, training, and information technology) are evolving. We identified several attitudes and behaviors (eg, strategic thinking), skills (eg, collaboration), and knowledge (eg, organizational awareness) important to CPD leadership, but no established set of unique competencies.

Discussion: These results offer the CPD community a foundation on which competencies, models, and training programs can build. This work suggests the need to build consensus on what CPD leadership means, what CPD leaders do, and what they will need to create and sustain change. We suggest the adaptation of existing leadership frameworks to a CPD context to better guide leadership and leadership development programs.