PLAN, a platform evolving General Practitioners skills across healthcare / Carter Digital

PLAN, a platform evolving General Practitioners skills across healthcare

OVERVIEW

RACGP’s PLAN program was an evidence-based approach that enables GPs to review their current knowledge and skills, and identify areas of focus for their general practice learning necessary to meet the evolving needs of their patients, their community and themselves.

At the heart of the platform was a requirement for GPs to learn from their unique experiences, and for each individual be in the best position to tailor their own professional development towards particular needs, aspirations and contexts

CHALLENGE

Creating a product that’s a mandatory activity for General Practitioners and a reflective learning platform that must be directly tied into the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program requirement of countries that have revalidation and relicensing processes, including the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States was no small feat.

Planning interview sessions based around busy GPs and their availabilities can be challenging, but was crucial in determining the data that ultimately dictated the outcome of this platform. Given the limited number of opportunities for Australian doctors to undertake reflective learning (which has also been highlighted in a report commissioned by the Medical Board of Australia) and the fact these learning plans were required by the boards of some Australian health professions, including pharmacy and nursing, the GPs were willing and generous participants.

In response to this changing educational and regulatory environment, we needed to create a digital platform that can incorporate reflective practice, facilitate the developmental aspect of reflective learning and have tangible outcomes of the CPD for Australian GPs.

The development of the reflective digital learning platform builds on this expertise and experience in tailoring sound educational principles to lifelong GP learning.

SOLUTION

The platform was used across all RACGP members and enabled GPs to review their current knowledge and skills, and identify areas of focus for their general practice learning necessary to meet the evolving needs of patients, their community and themselves.

Using the reflective learning methodology, each GP could acknowledge their unique experiences in influencing learning requirements in the Australian community.

Through this self-learning platform, members have been able to focus and commit to professional development, enabled examining professional experiences to avoid repeating past errors, and collecting evidence of new knowledge and learning.

RACGP had the ability to identify and address learning and skill-development needs through the data collected to up skill its members. GPs were able to be self-aware and more able to practise safely, as they understand their skill levels and how to manage a patient in a safe and appropriate manner. All of the information in a PLAN activity remains protected and is subject to all necessary privacy and confidentiality laws.

It is important for GPs to understand what they know and what they do not know. In this way, reflective learning supports patient safety.

Outcomes

• The PLAN activity was an enhanced online version of the paper-based learning needs assessment tool the RACGP has used for several years.

• Clinicians welcomed the opportunity to reflect on any possible areas of diminished knowledge and skill, but also to reassure their maintenance of skills so they can return to practice in a safe and appropriate manner.

• The educational basis and design of learning plans to facilitate broadening this experience to better suit all GPs is a complex process, and one that is an ongoing area of research for the RACGP.

• GPs discovered that the learning plan provided reassurance as to the extent of their skill maintenance.

• Many of these GPs, now create learning plan of aspirational educational plans, such as developing specialised skills.

• Learning plans helped identify emerging issues in their patient population that may require the development of new skills.

Services Provided

• Audience Analysis

• Product Strategy

• User Requirements

• Rapid Prototyping

• Customer Experience

• User Research

• Qualitative & Quantitative Research

• Workshops & Ideation Sessions