Exploring the relationship between continued professional development and lifelong learning in UK health professions.

This research explores the intersection between lifelong learning and continuing professional development (CPD) within UK chiropractic and other regulated health professions, an area with limited academic enquiry. Although CPD is a statutory requirement and a key pillar of professional practice, there is little understanding of how practitioners perceive and engage with it, or how policy frameworks influence its quality and impact. Designed as part of a Doctorate in Education, the study aims to benefit practitioners by enhancing CPD’s relevance and effectiveness, regulators by informing policy, and patients through improved professional competence. Impact would shape a more meaningful, evidence-informed CPD models aligned with adult learning, professional growth, and healthcare quality assurance. The challenge lies in translating findings into sustainable, system-level change. The General Chiropractic Council (GCC) supports the study, but broader impact requires deeper engagement across regulators. The goal is to shift CPD from input-driven models (e.g., hours or points) to outcome-focused approaches that improve patient care and service delivery. A key challenge is the lack of standardised metrics for CPD quality and ongoing debate about how professional learning is conceptualised in healthcare2.