Impact of participation in continuing medical education small group learning (CME-SGL) on the stress, morale, and professional isolation of rurally-based GPs: a qualitative study in Ireland.

Background: The pressures of general practice contribute to high levels of stress, low morale, and burnout in some GPs. In addition, rurally-based doctors may experience significant professional isolation. Participation in continuing medical education (CME) appears to reduce stress, and may improve the retention of rural GPs.

What are the current 'top five' perceived educational needs of Irish general practitioners?

Introduction: Doctors' continuing medical educational and professional development (CME and CPD) needs are known to be strongly influenced by national and local contextual characteristics. A crucial step in the development of effective education and training programmes is the assessment of learner needs.

Methods: A national needs assessment was conducted among general practitioners (GPs) in the Republic of Ireland who attended continuing medical education small group learning meetings (CME-SGL) in late 2017.

Twenty-five years of the international Bled course for teachers of family medicine in Europe: Glancing back and looking forward.

The international Bled course for teacher training has played a central role in faculty development in family medicine for the past 25 years. The course was originally designed to promote faculty development for family medicine teachers in the new academic discipline of family medicine in Slovenia in 1990 and to introduce new topics into the family medicine curriculum. In this background paper, we perform a SCOT analysis (strengths, challenges, opportunities, and threats) of the current course, evaluating participant feedback and reviewing past topics and their impact on local and international teaching programmes.