[How do general practice assistants keep themselves up to date?].

Background: The opportunities for continuing education among general practice (GP) assistants vary because of their dependence on their employers' attitudes and interests. Not all available continuing education activities are equally effective. The purpose of this study was to describe GP assistants' use of a range of quality improvement and continuing education activities, especially with regard to how much time was spent on each activity and how often the activities were used.

Material And Methods: A questionnaire was sent to GP assistants in 1321 general practices.

Results: 948 GP assistants returned the questionnaires. They spent on average one hour per week on continuing education. The primary activities were discussions with colleagues (daily), and meetings with pharmaceutical industry representatives (weekly). The use of courses was relatively modest; more than half of them were organised by pharmaceutical companies. Learning something new, improving practice and personal development were the most important motives for participating in continuing education.

Interpretation: The opportunities for continuing education available to GP assistants vary a great deal and are to a large extent left to the pharmaceutical industry. Many if not most of the opportunities available cannot be expected to lead to changes in practice. Those responsible for general practice - GPs as well as the health authorities--should ensure that GP assistants have a wider and better range of options for continuing education.