Early this September, a group from Continuing Professional Development crossed the Atlantic to attend the Association for Medical Education in Europe Conference (AMEE). There, Jane Tipping, MADEd, witnessed her labour of love hit its third year.
Five years ago, seeing a need for greater concentration on ongoing accreditation courses, Ms. Tipping formally proposed that a portion of the conference be dedicated to Continuing Professional Development. A day and a half of workshops and lectures led by representatives from CPD departments across the globe now precedes the annual event.
“The spirit of this was, ‘Yes, we know about CPD, but we don’t know anything about what other countries are doing differently,’” says Ms. Tipping. She says the program helps educators learn from one another’s vastly different experiences.
The addition sparked a further development. Ms. Tipping teamed up with Dr. Suzan Schneeweiss, Academic Director for CPD, to create a ten-week webinar certificate program in International CPD Foundations. The program seeks to teach those involved in ongoing education about how they can develop and implement programs with impact.
Ms. Tipping and Dr. Schneeweiss are dedicated to providing fundamental theory and skill training to ensure effectiveness in the classroom. Participants are given information on everything from determining what learners want to know to gauging future trends in CPD, focusing as a whole on customized, needs-based instruction.
“I think everyone in U of T should know about how their school is changing the world,” says Ms. Tipping. “They should all be very, very proud.
The webinar series begins October 27, 2015 and runs until June 14, 2016. For more information, visit www.cpd.utoronto.ca/cpd-foundations.
