"...competence involves continuing professional development ... that is the really crucial thing, not just passing an examination." - Colette Bowe Members of a self-regulating profession such as medicine have an obligation to their professional body to ensure that their performance meets the expectations of a competent professional. The professions and the regulatory bodies that govern them have an obligation to the public to ensure that the members possess the necessary competencies for safe practice and to make certain that they are engaged in developing and updating these competencies. In the past, it was assumed that physicians in practice participated in professional development through a process of self-assessment and self-directed learning. Unfortunately, the evidence suggests that many physicians made little effort to do so. Perhaps many of them perceived no deficiencies in their knowledge base or practice patterns. However, people tend to hold overly favourable views of their own knowledge and abilities, and the least competent tend to have the most inflated self-assessments. As well, there is a poor correlation between physicians' self-assessments and those provided by external reviewers, indicating a limited ability on the part of physicians to self-determine their true personal need for education. Physicians with more experience are generally believed to have accumulated knowledge and skills during their years in practice, and such experience is thought to be equated with enhanced care.
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