From professional practice assessment to continuing professional development: hospital practitioners' involvement and opinion concerning professional practice assessment activities

Introduction: The aim of this study was to describe implementation of professional practice assessment (PPA) programmes and participation of physicians and pharmacists in these programmes in a French university hospital. Methods: We conducted an observational study based on PPA programmes validated in Grenoble university hospital continuing education board between 2007 and 2011. Data were extracted from individual commitment forms filled in by professionals and programme validation forms. The main outcome was the proportion of full-time hospital practitioners who validated at least one PPA programme. Results: Over a 5-year period, 64 PPA programmes and 509 individual commitments involving 366 professionals were validated. At study endpoint, 264 (47%) permanent professionals had validated their mandatory PPA programme. The main methods used in PPA programmes included mortality and morbidity reviews (23), multidisciplinary meetings (23), staff PPA (8) and experience feedback committees (6). The most commonly reported strengths of these programmes included team work (49%) and improvement of patient care (30%). The most commonly reported drawbacks were organizational issues (27%) and unavailability to participate (23%). Conclusion: Hospital practitioners and pharmacists adhered to team-based PPA programmes. Implementation of team-base continuing development programmes was the preferred modality during the study period. Implementation of continuing professional development should help support this dynamic.