'Practice professional development plans': general practitioners' perspectives on proposed changes in general practice education.

BACKGROUND The Chief Medical Officer has presented a report proposing a change in general practitioners' education towards a 'Practice Professional Development Plan', which, in principle, is based around formal needs assessment, practice-based learning in areas identified by those involved, and with the potential for multi-professional learning. This aims to replace the present system of a financial allowance earned by attending a certain amount of educational activity. AIM To study the opinions of a group of general practitioners attending a course that included workshops that introduced and considered this educational initiative. METHOD Semi-structured interviews four weeks after the course. RESULTS Educational benefits were clearly seen, while issues such as funding and time will present difficulties in implementation. CONCLUSIONS This proposal was seen as an improvement to the existing postgraduate educational allowance system. To maintain enthusiasm, successful introduction will depend on the issues of support and resources.