Report on the Peter Mills Honorary Symposium, Future of E-Learning in Continuing Professional Development (CPD)...

In a tribute to eminent British cardiologist Dr Peter Mills, and one of its long-serving Board members, the European Cardiology Section Foundation (ECSF) presented this symposium in a virtual format,moderated by independent CME/CPD professional Fabiola de Andrade and Reinhard Griebenow, Chairman of the Board of ECSF. The symposium was designed to consider the ongoing ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic and its lsting influence on the way that CME/CPD activities are now being delivered. Presenters from Germany and the United States discussed recent developments in the working environment of healthcare professionals, various aspects of the regulatory and legal issues associated with rapidly changing educational formats such as e-learning, and the enforced move towards more self-directed learning. Key design principles of effective e-learning were also prsented, and examples ofsuccessful micro-e-learning with measured outcomes were provided. In a final discussion period,participants highlighted several concerns such as the integration of this emerging format into different accreditation systems. The main area of concern in this case was thatsuch systems may not yet be fully harmonised. The symposium provided a useful framework for further discussion of how educational activities in CME/CPD could and possibly should, be designed and implemented in the "new normal" of hybrid and e-learning modalities.