Continuing professional development barriers and recommendations: Perspectives of audiologists.
Suvishka Barath, Andrew J Ross
PMID 39221743WHAT IT FOUND
Early-career private audiologists in South Africa cite lack of motivation, high costs, and poor scheduling as barriers to CPD.
They report attending irrelevant activities just to meet compliance points, and suggest needs assessments and practical, affordable training.
Key findings
01Participants reported a lack of motivation to engage in CPD, often attending only to meet statutory compliance rather than to improve practice.
02Financial constraints, including the cost of data for online courses and fees for professional bodies, were significant barriers to participation.
03Structural issues, such as CPD activities scheduled during working hours and a lack of information about available options, hindered engagement.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study focused only on early-career audiologists (graduated 2017-2022) with limited experience (1-5 years), so findings may not reflect the perspectives of more experienced practitioners who have navigated the system longer. The sample was small (11 participants) and limited to one province (KwaZulu-Natal) in South Africa, restricting generalizability. Participants were recruited via social media and snowball sampling, which may introduce selection bias towards those more connected or motivated to participate in research.
Declared interests
The authors declare that this research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the reported barriers as evidence of a failure in individual audiologists' professional commitment. The study highlights systemic issues in how CPD is structured, monitored, and priced in the South African private sector context, particularly the misalignment between compliance requirements and clinical relevance.