The changing landscape of professional development

Abstract

This learning activity looks at the changes that have taken place in professional development both in terms of the background of learners Generation Z, Generation Y, and the types of learning that are available as more and more professional learning opportunities are online. Online learning has become the new normal but how fast are we adopting and encouraging the mix of learners working in medical illustration and healthcare generally to access online professional development opportunities?

Keywords:

• Professional
• development
• online
• learning
• education
• medical art and illustration

Introduction

The move from learning activities being accessible only through the journal to increasing availability online of resources for healthcare professionals has changed the professional development landscape.

When I first started creating guided learning materials for professional development I was extracting bite sized activities from a larger publication which was seen as too much for professionals to engage in for continuing professional development (CPD). Since my first publication on ‘Patient privacy’, Bryson (2004), I have had a further 33 published.

These professional development activities are all still available either via the Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, through the Institute of Medical Illustrators website https://www.imi.org.uk/account/activity-sheets/, via my researchgate.net profile https://www.researchgate.net/profile/David-Bryson-4 or my website at https://learningforprofessionalpractice.com/.

The change in the landscape is clearly seen in the recently published activities ‘Can MOOCs meet your learning needs’ (Bryson, 2017) and ‘Using webinars to support your learning’ (Bryson, 2020). The focus of these articles is the use of online synchronous and asynchronous learning for professional development. No more do we have to travel into a central location to meet together for professional development.

The Institute of Medical Illustrators website includes links to resources for example e-learning for Healthcare, https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/, (Figure 1). There has been a profound move from face-to-face meetings and lectures to online learning that has been taking place even before the lockdowns due to Covid19. Professional bodies with members spread geographically across the whole of the United Kingdom and beyond have realised the value of online meetings. When even comedy shows have zoom audiences the changing landscape becomes more obvious.

Figure 1. Screencapture showing the e-learning for Healthcare website https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/.

A recent publication by FutureLearn ‘The future of learning report’ (https://www.futurelearn.com/info/insights/self-education-online-learning-the-future-of-education) highlights the changes that have taken place and are taking place. YouGov undertook this global study, funded by future learn, to interrogate and explore the future of learning. This was shaped around the key themes of personal development, career aspirations, the power of education and online learning, and expectations for education in the future.

There are generational differences but the changes allow everyone to benefit if in different ways and with different tools. Which generation are you? Do have a look in Table 1.

Table 1. What generation?

Baby Boomer Generation	1946–1964	57–75
Generation X (Baby Bust)	1965–1979	42–56
Xennials	1975–1985	36–46
Millennials Generation Y, Gen Next	1980–1994	27–41
iGen / Gen Z	1995–2012	9–26

Medical illustration as a profession is one which actually exemplifies one of the challenges of the digital divide in that many older medical illustrators fall more easily into the categories defined by Kaufman (2011) rather than the simplistic digital native/digital immigrant divide (Table 2).

Table 2. Digital types as described by Kaufmann (2011).

Digital Natives Are called by many names Millennials and Gen Y.	They are approximately ages 10–29 years and born into the digital age. The Internet is their default and comfort level in terms of playing games, doing homework, searching for events/information/products, and sending messages.
Digital Immigrants Are approximately ages 30–60 years and are the early and late adopters of the Web 2.0 technologies.	Most immigrants were born ‘before the existence of digital technology and adopted it to some extent later in their life.’ They were brought up with a variety of computer technologies, used them in different contexts and have varied levels of experience with social media.
Digital Aliens Think strategic, need to experience digital value.	They are approximately ages 45–70 years and are the late adopters and laggards of the Web2.0 technologies.
Digital Integrators Live digital, innovate strategic, need to integrate	They are approximately ages 25–60 years and are the innovators and early adopters of the Web2.0 technologies. Some were ‘Digital Natives,’ while other were ‘Digital Immigrants.’ They live the Digital World — experimenting, testing, sharing and implementing new social technologies and evolving their digital knowledge and presence.

Activity – what generation and digital type are you and your colleagues at work?

This is very much a collective activity as each department is likely to have different mix of age and experience. Many of us are definitely not digital natives. At school I used a slide rule, logarithm tables and a calculating machine to show my age! Yet, to some extent I was an early adopter, i.e. digital integrator, as I had developed my first website in 1995 and developed online resources for teaching modules the year after.

What is the balance where you work perhaps in your department or even more widely in your hospital or trust?

Activity – how do you perceive the global learning trends?

Download and read the future learning report. How much of this is definitely you and how much is not? As the report says ‘From generational differences to changing expectations, our key findings from across the UK, USA, and Australia shine a light on a range of global trends surrounding how and why people learn.’ (FutureLearn, 2021, p. 4). Interestingly the report also finds that ‘People in the UK are shown to be falling behind their American and Australian counterparts in both the adoption of online learning and positive attitudes towards it.’ (FutureLearn, 2021, p. 4).

Discuss the report in your department and think about the implications for your and your colleagues’ continuing professional development.

‘Online is the new normal. Data shows online learning is becoming the norm. Experts agree that although digital learning uptake was accelerated by COVID-19, its popularity is here to stay.’ (FutureLearn, 2021, p. 5).

Access to learning and support for further learning and qualifications has never been easier with a wide range of providers of both informal and formal learning opportunities. Many learning opportunities are free unless you want a certificate to demonstrate your achievements. You are likely to find more and more of your colleagues in the NHS are learning at the same time as working to achieve recognised qualifications for example Apprentice Assistant Practitioners and Operating Department Practitioners.

Activity – what are you going to learn online next?

Search online for your next professional development opportunity. This search should be ideally linked to your personal development plan to achieve your personal objectives. For example a lot of online learning opportunities are accessible through organisations like Future Learn, https://www.futurelearn.com/subjects/healthcare-medicine-courses, the Open University, https://www.open.edu/openlearn/free-courses, as well as simple bite size learning through YouTube videos or Ted talks https://www.ted.com/talks?sort=relevance&q=healthcare. Online learning is also seen as a route to formal learning as part of University’s Central Admissions Service (UCAS) https://www.ucas.com/undergraduate/what-and-where-to-study/online-learning.

One of the trends that was seen in the future learn report is that ‘There is now a wider acceptance of different types of qualifications such as microcredentials due to current formal qualifications not matching industry expectations and skills demand’ (FutureLearn, 2021, p. 5).