Doctors have a responsibility, wherever they practise, to remain competent, up-to-date and fit to practise. This page provides information for doctors practising outside the UK who wish to participate in the RCOG’s continuing professional development (CPD) programme.
Professional ethics is at the heart of continuing professional development and, as a responsible doctor, you should participate in CPD to do your best for your patients and women’s health.
One of the College’s main objectives is promoting standards of care both nationally and internationally. To help achieve this aim, we provide a CPD programme for those practising O&G or its subspecialties. You may find that participating in such a scheme is helpful to maintain high standards in your area of practice. We encourage all our Fellows and Members to engage in CPD activities.
You may be participating in your local CPD programme. However, if you are unable to do so, you are welcome to register on the RCOG’s CPD programme. If you do not hold the MRCOG you can apply to become an RCOG Associate to participate in the RCOG CPD programme.
Our CPD programme for international doctors
The College is fully aware of global women’s health issues and that international doctors work in diverse contexts. To encourage Fellows, Members and Associates to maintain their knowledge and skills wherever they are, we have developed a CPD Framework that:
- is accessible and relevant to international doctors
- is flexible in content and ways of learning (you choose, the College provides guidance, but does not mandate)
- can be tailored to your local needs
- puts focus on lifelong, self-directed learning
- provides opportunities for learning from experience (informal learning)
- encourages learning in non-technical skills– patient safety, human factors, communication, team-working
- supports career development and personal job satisfaction, is adaptable to changing future careers
- makes reflection easier to support
- shows outcomes of CPD
- is free of charge for Fellows, Members and RCOG Associates
The CPD ePortfolio
A CPD ePortfolio has also been developed to accompany the CPD Framework.
The CPD ePortfolio:
- is mobile / tablet friendly
- can capture reflection and outcomes of CPD
- enables you to download customised output reports between dates of your choice
- helps doctors plan their learning objectives for the forthcoming year
- allows doctors to demonstrate that their CPD relates to what they do
Reflection and action
CPD is most effective when you reflect on your learning. Reflection encourages you to become a lifelong learner as it necessitates focussed and analytical thinking. You are more able to appraise your practice critically, identify, plan and evaluate learning. Documented reflection leads to the identification of areas for improvement and professional development. Additional credits are claimable for completion of a reflection log on the learning achieved.
Our programme also allows you to demonstrate how you might have applied your learning to your practice, the service you provide and / or the potential impact of the learning. This could range from a comment that you have changed a single aspect of your personal practice as a result of the learning to demonstration of a major change in the way an entire service is delivered. Additional credits are claimable for completion of an action log.
