There is no doubt that the options for online education as well as the uptake by GPs has skyrocketed over the pandemic.

The latest Healthed survey of about 1000 GPs demonstrates the increasing acceptance and appreciation of online medical education by Australian GPs.
But was the enthusiasm for online education only because there were no alternatives?

The Healthed survey suggests not. When the GPs were asked whether they anticipated engaging in more, less or the same online education next year as compared to 2021, the results were overwhelming.

The vast majority said, for both webcasts and podcasts they anticipated at least the same degree of engagement if not more. In fact only 6.3% of the GPs predicted they would listen to fewer podcasts, and 4.5% would attend fewer webcasts in 2022.

It appears GPs have come to enjoy and seek out their education online. How big a part this will play in GPs’ continuing professional development once more options become available remains uncertain, but for now health education organisations will be watching with interest as larger face-to-face events get scheduled for 2022.

There appears to be cautious anticipation of face-to-face events, no doubt the result of two years of social distancing. 43% of GPs surveyed reported that they were very likely or somewhat likely to attend more of such events in 2022, compared to 2021.

Perhaps it’s the free coffee you can’t get when learning online?