Medical board chair ’ s interview incenses doctors .

ANALYSIS Paul Smith YOU cannot fault Dr Anne Tonkin for lack of clarity .

Her interview with AusDoc has enraged many — not least because she clearly feels there is no fire burning or , if there is , it is a combustion that will burn out with no damage .

The mass complaints — in the words of one GP , the CPD system is a “ soul-destroying , form-filling , foolish endeavour ” — contrast markedly with her view that at least some people are happy .

But you can feel the deeper sense that whether doctors are happy is not make-or-break for these reforms .

CPD is always an unwanted imposition : it was when it first became mandatory for registration , and it will be in the future .

This comes with Dr Tonkin ’ s belief that the regime remains light touch because everything a doctor decides in the context of the performance reviews and outcome measurements is still self-determined .

One GP called the system a ‘ soul-destroying ’ endeavour .

The requirements have been left vague enough for them to be integrated into the usual learnings of any practitioner .

Something has been lost in translation here because that is not how doctors have experienced it .

The frustrations look real . Some have said it has felt like being the subject of a demeaning joke ; some older doctors have said they are retiring early because of it .

Those demanding the system is changed will be disturbed by Dr Tonkin ’ s response towards the end of the interview to the question of how the board will judge whether the reforms have worked when it conducts its formal evaluation in four years ’ time .

She said nothing had been decided yet . She mentioned it would be good to capture whether patient outcomes had improved but said this would be very difficult . But surely the board should have had an explicit and measurable definition of success or failure at the point when the reform rolled out .

The alternatives she suggested to the hardest end point — improved patient outcomes — all

seem very soft : talking to experts , talking to colleges , talking to doctors , gathering perspectives .

The core finding of the AusDoc survey was simple . Those whose responses we used all went through the board ’ s CPD system , and the

overwhelming majority said it failed in its stated purpose to help them maintain their standards to increase ( in the words of Dr Tonkin when the changes came ) the “ value of doctors ’ lifelong learning ”.

Who is in the best position to

Dr Anne Tonkin .

make a judgement on its value ? The board will need some evidence beyond the views of experts and the medical colleges that the judgement of doctors themselves is secondary when it comes to their own experiences .

PAGE 1 working part-time or as professional locums and rural GPs .”

The submission warned against the planned shift from triennial to annual reporting , saying it would hit part-time doctors , specifically those with babies and young children .

Dr Nicole Higgins .

How much time did you spend on your CPD last year ?

Prefer not to say 3 %

Less than 10 hours 1 %

Less than 50 hours 7 %

Fifty hours 6 %

More than 50 hours 40 %

More than 80 hours 32 %

Can ’ t remember / other 11 %

n = 880

50 %

Rate the new CPD requirements in terms of maintaining your standard of practice

‘ It should reflect what we know works .’

25 %

From ‘ Complete waste of time ’ ( 0 ) to ‘ Extremely helpful ’ ( 10 )

Dr Tonkin defended the annual CPD mandate of 50 hours , stressing it had been the requirement for doctors under general registration .

“ And if people look at what they ’ re doing as part of reviewing their practice and so on , if you have a practice meeting once a week for an hour , that ’ s already 50 hours ,” she added .

“ If people think of it as an hour a week , that ’ s not a huge ask .”

Dr Tonkin also said it was necessary for part-time doctors or those who had taken extended

leave to also complete 50 hours of CPD .

“ No matter how many hours a week you ’ re seeing patients , you need to do it well .

“ That is why you need to be just as updated if you are working 20

hours a week as if you ’ re working 60 hours a week .

“ It doesn ’ t make sense to cut back the requirements for people who are part-time because the purpose of CPD is to promote good practice and well-treated patients .”

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