Training & CPD

The RCOG has defined CPD as “a continuing process, outside formal undergraduate and postgraduate training, that enables individual doctors to maintain and improve standards of medical practice through the development of knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviour. CPD should also support specific changes in practice.

Ultrasound and other imaging modalities play a vital role in modern clinical practice. This is reflected in the Core Curricula and training requirements for both RCOG and the RCR trainees. Increasingly, obstetricians and gynaecologists are undertaking their own scans in the course of clinical practice.

With the imminent introduction of revalidation and recertification for medical practitioners, it is envisaged that Professional Colleges such as the RCOG and RCR will have input into the process by confirming to the employer/responsible officer that the doctor has met the requirements of the CPD programme. This will incorporate a number of standards: (1) standards based on GMC Good Medical Practice, (2) CPD Programme, which may include a compulsory element of knowledge assessment, (3) performance indicators set by the respective College and in the case of the RCOG, with input from its specialist societies, and (4) clinical audits that assess practice against national standards.

In order to fulfil these requirements, the British Society of Gynaecological Imaging will propose to its membership a multidisciplinary CPD scheme for O&G ultrasound practitioners. This will consist of a knowledge component, which will include attendance at its annual scientific meetings and participation in its on-line educational material and a practice-based component, which will include submission of an annual audit of ultrasound practice.