The Availability, Utilisation and Needs for Continuing Professional Development of Rural General Practitioner in the Western and Northern Cape

Continuing professional development (CPD) is receiving increasing attention in South Africa. The introduction of recertification based on a system of obligatory CPD by the Health Professions Council of South Africa has precipitated a flurry of activity in the CPD arena, especially in terms of providing CPD. However, despite the fact that the assessment of learning needs has a positive influence on the outcome of CPD not much has been done in South Africa to assess the real, perceived and expressed educational needs of doctors.