Continuing education in general practice in the UK: a review.

This paper reviews developments in continuing education in general practice in the UK in the 1980s. It highlights the growing awareness at national level of the need to develop performance review as a form of continuing education in general practice and the steps that have been taken to restructure the postgraduate medical education system. It also draws attention to the lack of change in the general pattern of continuing education, despite some uncoordinated growth of activity outside postgraduate centres and the emergence of some educational innovations. The paper concludes by putting forward proposals for a programme of action and for the appointment of properly trained general practitioner tutors in each district to support, coordinate and extend educational initiatives.