General Practitioner Engagement with Continuing Professional Development: A Scoping Review Protocol

Continuing professional development (CPD) is a cornerstone of lifelong learning for general practitioners (GPs), encompassing both formal (e.g. courses, workshops) and informal (e.g. peer learning, self-directed) activities. While CPD is increasingly mandated through credit-based systems, concerns have emerged that such frameworks may encourage compliance-driven behaviour, limiting relevance to clinical practice and undermining professional autonomy. This scoping review will examine how GPs engage with CPD in terms of decision-making, motivation, and perceived value, and factors influencing their choice of CPD activities. This will be addressed through two sub-questions: (1) What personal, professional, contextual, organisational or systemic factors influence CPD choices? (2) What strategies do GPs use to identify, select, and prioritise CPD activities? A comprehensive systematic search will be conducted across MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), ERIC, Scopus, Informit, and APA PsycINFO, supplemented by grey literature from stakeholder organisations, conference websites, and structured Google searches. Eligible studies will include empirical research on GPs’ CPD engagement in primary care settings within systems that mandate CPD participation. The review will follow JBI methodology and will be reported in accordance with PRISMA-ScR guidelines. By synthesising current evidence, the review seeks to inform the design of practitioner-centred CPD models that support reflective practice, lifelong learning, and improved patient care.