JCEHP Emerging Best Practices in CPD

Measuring Scholarly Practice in Respiratory Therapists: The Development and Initial Validation of a Scholarly Practice Tool

Introduction: Respiratory therapists (RTs) must apply competencies to address the health care needs of the public. Although all competencies are deemed essential, scholarly practice requires that professionals critically assess their practices, integrate evidence-based literature, and enhance the care they deliver to patients. Though scholarly practice is also associated with professional empowerment, role satisfaction, and improved patient care, it is rarely measured. The purpose of this study was to develop, pilot, and generate preliminary validity evidence of a tool designed to measure scholarly practice among RTs. Methods: We used DeVellis' nine-step scale development process and exploratory factor analysis to develop the tool. The results of a scoping review and qualitative study were used to generate an item pool and pilot test it with 81 RTs across Canada. The refined tool was tested on a larger sample (n = 832) and analyzed using exploratory factor analysis. Results: Using principal axis factoring with Promax rotation, we retained 18 items across 4 factors, explaining 56.7% of the variance in the data: (Factor 1) professional development and credibility, (Factor 2) elements supporting scholarly practice, (Factor 3) the perceived impact of scholarly activities on practice, and (Factor 4) scholarly practitioner identity and ability. Internal consistency of the final 18-item scale was suitable overall. Discussion: Our results provide preliminary evidence for a scholarly practice tool that can encourage self-reflection and/or foster peer-based reflection. Using the tool with other health care professionals and conducting confirmatory factor analysis could generate additional validity evidence. Access the article here [https://journals.lww.com/jcehp/fulltext/2025/00000/measuring_scholarly_practice_in_respiratory.2.aspx].

Considering the Cost-Effectiveness of Accredited Continuing Medical Education: A Landscape Analysis of Economic Concepts in Continuing Medical Education Research

In health care, cost-effectiveness analysis evaluates changes in health outcomes as a function of costs. The cost-effectiveness of continuing professional development for health care providers has not been historically well characterized despite substantial investment. This literature review identified publications considering the costs and cost-effectiveness of accredited continuing medical education activities. Searches were conducted for English language records in PubMed and the gray literature using a 10-year lookback period from March 10, 2023. Search terms included concepts related to continuing medical education, cost, effect, and utilization. One reviewer conducted title/abstract screening, full-text review, and data extraction, with direction and adjudication of search and screening concepts provided by the lead advisor. Publications were categorized as related to costs of an educational intervention (Concept 1) and/or the impact of education on health care costs (Concept 2). Results were summarized using descriptive statistics. A total of 668 database records were screened, 125 (19%) underwent full-text review, and 25 of 125 (20%) were accepted; 7 of 351 (2%) gray literature sources were accepted for a total of 32 included records. The most common reason for rejection was not being an accredited activity. Of the 32 records, 27 (84%) were related to Concept 1 only, 3 (9%) to Concept 2 only, and 2 (6%) to both Concepts 1 and 2. Approximately half (n = 19, 59%) mentioned costs without supporting data. These findings show that considerations of cost and cost-effectiveness are rare in the accredited continuing medical education literature, which may limit how the value of continuing medical education is characterized. Access the article here [https://journals.lww.com/jcehp/fulltext/2025/00000/considering_the_cost_effectiveness_of_accredited.5.aspx].

Deriving Insights From Open-Ended Learner Feedback: An Exploration of Natural Language Processing Approaches

Open-ended feedback from learners offers valuable insights for adapting continuing health education to their needs; however, this feedback is burdensome to analyze with qualitative methods. Natural language processing offers a potential solution, but it is unclear which methods provide useful insights. We evaluated natural language processing methods for analyzing open-ended feedback from CPD training at a psychiatric hospital. The data set consisted of survey responses from staff participants, which included two text responses on how participants intended to use the training ("intent to use"; n = 480) and other information they wished to share ("open-ended feedback"; n = 291). We analyzed "intent-to-use" responses with topic modeling, "open-ended feedback" with sentiment analysis, and both responses with (LLM)–based clustering. We examined outputs of each approach to determine their value for deriving insights about the training. Our results indicated that because the "intent-to-use" responses were short and lacked diversity, topic modeling was not useful in differentiating content between the topics. For "open-ended feedback," sentiment scores did not accurately reflect the valence of responses. The LLM-based clustering approach generated meaningful clusters characterized by semantically similar words for both responses. LLMs may be a useful approach for deriving insights from learner feedback because they capture context, making them capable of distinguishing between responses that use similar words to convey different topics. Future directions involve exploring other methods involving LLMs, or examining how these methods fare on other data sets or types of learner feedback. Click Here [https://journals.lww.com/jcehp/fulltext/2025/00000/deriving_insights_from_open_ended_learner.10.aspx] to access the article!

Serendipitous Pathways and Elusive Definitions: Leadership in Continuing Professional Development

Although the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) field has rapidly expanded in scope, breadth, and depth, there is a gap in how we understand CPD leadership and the role of the leader. Previous scholarship indicates that there is neither an agreed on set of competencies for CPD leadership roles nor a distinct pathway towards those roles. This study is aimed at answering the following question: How is leadership described or defined in CPD and what are the contextual issues that are and/or should be shaping its evolution? Seventeen interviews were conducted. There were multiple components identified that were important to CPD leadership, such as being visionary, or having strong collaboration skills with some components, such as adaptability and flexibility appearing more unique to the CPD context. The role of CPD leadership and the pathway to CPD leadership remain highly variable. Attaining a CPD leadership position predominantly involves some degree of "serendipity." While CPD leaders may fundamentally need basic and common leadership skills, an essential attribute of the CPD leader is to effectively respond to the context and the unique needs of the health system. We recommend better articulating and valuing the role of the CPD leader within the health system.

Developmental Coaching for Clinician Educators: Just What the Doctor Ordered

Despite intensive attempts to create scholarship equity at academic medical centers, clinician educators continue to face a challenging professional promotion environment that puts them at risk for burnout, stalled career advancement, and abandonment of academic medicine altogether. Coaching, which has a wealth of supportive evidence from outside of medicine, is distinguished by (1) being driven by the agentic coachee that is inherently capable, creative, and resourceful, (2) not requiring the coach and coachee to have shared content expertise, and (3) not being centered around transfer of expertise from the more knowledgeable or experienced party to the recipient. Initial evidence from within medicine indicates that coaching reduces burnout and improves learner self-reflection, teaching effectiveness, goal setting, reflective capacity, professional identity formation, career planning, and development of adaptive expertise. In this article, faculty coaching is presented as a powerful means to help clinician educators overcome the myriad challenges to professional advancement and career fulfillment. The current evidence in support of coaching—both within and outside of medicine—is reviewed. Finally, a conceptual model is provided, as are guidelines demonstrating specific roles, behaviors, and responsibilities for faculty coaches and coachee.