There is not a comprehensive global analysis of continuing professional development (CPD) and continuing education (CE) in the major health professions in published literature. The aim of this article is to summarize findings from the US and international literature on CPD and CE practices in the health professions, comparing the different requirements and frameworks to see what similarities and challenges exist and what the future focus should be for the pharmacy profession. A literature review was conducted on CPD and CE in selected health professions, namely pharmacy, medicine, nursing, ophthalmology, dentistry, public health, and psychology. Over 300 papers from the health professions were retrieved and screened. Relevant articles based on the abstracts and introductions were summarized into tabular form by profession, minimum requirements for licensure, nature of credits, guidelines on how to record CE and CPD activities, and specific CE and CPD definitions. Wide variations exist among the health professions. Lessons learned from this information can be used to further clarify and define the role of CE and CPD and self-directed lifelong learning in pharmacy and the health professions.
Keywords: continuing professional development; framework; health professions; requirements.