Developing “Ethical Mindfulness” in Continuing Professional Development in Healthcare: Use of a Personal Narrative Approach

Continuing professional development (CPD) and life-long learning are now widely accepted goals of healthcare professions. Although this is perhaps more apparent in the medical profession, most other healthcare professions are in widespread agreement that in order to fulfill their professional requirements, healthcare professionals need to adopt a practice of life-long learning. Continuing professional development is seen as important for a number of reasons. One reason is that the continuing advances in biomedical science and technology mean that new drugs, devices, and procedures are constantly being introduced into healthcare practice, requiring ongoing acquisition of new content knowledge. A second reason for CPD is in response to the recognition that healthcare professionals do not emerge from their initial training with the skills they need for practice already fully mastered. Learning of skills, such as communication with patients, families, and other professionals, is an on-going process.