The Harvard Macy Institute Podcast S1 E 5: Social Learning Theory and Continuing Professional Development in Health Professions Education

The Harvard Macy Institute Podcast aims to connect our Harvard Macy Institute community and to develop our interest in health professions education topics and literature. Our podcast is hosted by our Program for Educators in the Health Professions course faculty Victoria Brazil, and will feature interviews with health professions education authors and their research papers.

Podcast #5 explores a recent paper on Social Learning Theory and Continuing Professional Development,

with Louise Allen (first author) and Graham McMahon Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) in the United States.

In this episode Victoria Brazil speaks with Louise Allen about her recent Medical Teacher publication on Applying Social Learning Theory to explain the impacts of Continuing Professional Development. Her paper, with co-authors Marg Hay, Elizabeth Armstrong and Claire Palermo is an exemplar of qualitative research, and involved semi-structured interviews with previous Harvard Macy and Monash Institute for Health and Clinical Education program participants. The team found that scholars broadened their networks, affirmed themselves, applied learning in practice and enjoyed career progression. The impacts of these courses reached beyond themselves to both the people and organizations with which  they are involved.

Victoria and Louise were also joined by Graham McMahon from ACCME (see his succinct Stanford X talk on CME or listen to his new Coffee with Graham podcast) to consider what this means for the planning, delivery and regulation of continuing professional development. In a broad ranging discussion we draw on the prior Harvard Macy Institute podcast on virtual communities of practice, Dan Pratt’s 5 perspectives on teaching , and the translational of these principles in a COVID imposed ‘virtual CME’ era.