If you wish to view this growth diary in audio or video format , feel free to go there.
Video: Growth Diary 12
Audio: Growth Diaries Podcast 12
Having spoken about growth and its benefits, its relevance and its importance in today's world, perhaps it is time to see how growth may fit into the regulatory framework.
Currently the GDC's enhanced CPD rules suggest that you maintain a PDP (Professional Development Plan) and that you complete a specific number of hours of CPD through a 5 year cycle.
Within the PDP there are 4 elements: Plan, do, reflect and record.
If you want a really good insight into the PDP and the enhanced GDC rules, you can view our series which was released in 2018 and is available at https://www.dentinaltubules.co...
This may be good except that:
1. The plan part does not provide any real detail of how that should be done. Infact the template on the GDC website simply says the following about the plan aspect: What do I need to learn or maintain for this cycle? What skills or knowledge have you identified that need developing or maintaining? Are there any gaps that need addressing?
2. The outcome is the number of hours.
This encourages tick-boxing because registrants may do CPD that is prescribed to them i.e. they are given a list of CPD that they need to do. Ultimately their aim is to accumulate hours of CPD rather than actually engage in learning that enhances a skill or knowledge.
3. Those who do go on courses, may not always manage to get onto the right course.
If you truly want to see the effect of this approach, then it is seen in the 10 challenges facing dentistry at the moment. There is a chance you could be facing one or many of these challenges. Have a look at the 10 challenges and see if the questions resonate at https://www.dentinaltubules.co...
If these questions resonate with you, your team or someone you know - then you can see why
Yet Growth is different, it delves into the plan in detail:
1. It does not just identify what you need to learn or maintain, it identifies in detail, and at depth what the true problem or deficiency is, and in turn, what the complexity of the problem is.
2. The outcome of growth is not how many hours, but how the outcome is achieved.
3. Growth does not have a finite point. It constantly reviews, and works on feedback.
Growth involves a consistent cycle of:
1. Identifying the problem or gap
2. Unlocking the complexities of the problem and creating a very bespoke learning plan
3. Implementing the learning in your environment
4. Analysing the feedback to identify how that problem or gap was crossed, and planning the next leap.
Growth is about making the leap in your progress. Growth is about unlocking your potential.
I would call this Identify, Unlock, Implement and Analyse (I.U.I.A since everyone likes acronyms). Maybe it is less catchy than "plan, do, reflect and record" as a term but it will be more catchy in enabling you to unlock your potential and make the leap. The measure would not be the number of hours only, but the number of the I.U.I.As completed per cycle.
Whilst I know that legislation cannot let them move away from hours, there is nothing stopping them from asking how many hours each I.U.I.A cycle undertook.
However, even if they don't implement it, our iPDP at Tubules is built for this. The Tubules website and iPDP is built for growth. Growth is what will make you Agile in this new world.
When you do not engage in growth, and instead engaged in CPD, you are likely to see the 15 challenges.
If you want to rise above those 15 challenges and become a powerhouse in this rapidly changing world, join us at the TubulesLive on the 7th May 2025 as we unravel further.
It also has a list of the 15 common challenges – how many of these do you face?
Have a look and if the questions resonate, sign up for the TubulesLive at https://www.dentinaltubules.co..
In other updates..
1. Check out the Tubules Thrive calendar dates for 2025. All our events including 3 super restorative courses with Dr. Ed McLaren (in London and Scotland), our Thrive Days and the Thrive summit in Nice.
All the dates and booking links are at https://www.dentinaltubules.co...
2. We are running 3 exciting composite and ceramic preparation courses with Dr. Edward McLaren from the USA. You can book the courses by finding your course link at https://www.dentinaltubules.co...
