Continuing Professional Education in Australia: A Tale of Missed Opportunities

Abstract

The thesis presents the first reporting of the story of Continuing Professional Education (CPE) in Australia. CPE is a different style of educational provision and has not been recognised as a distinct stand alone sector. However it is perceived in this thesis as an accepted sector and that it is cross-professional and a legitimate part of professional education. The story is not a history of the field. The writer is not an historian but his work as an active participant, researcher, consultant and colleague in the field has allowed him to develop this generalised tale from the individual experiences of the many professions, as managed by their associations. The culmination of the story is the 2010 creation of a national registration regime for select health professions. In the research on CPE's origins and early development, the situation appeared regularly of opportunities that CPE had missed for gaining recognition and acceptance. When similar circumstances were also discovered in more recent years and the current century, the general theme of 'missed opportunities' was adopted. Having established the nature of CPE in an introduction, the origins and early development of CPE are noted. Then the educational context in which CPE developed is described and various opportunities identified.