ABSTRACT
The practice personal and professional development plan (PPDP) should cater for everyone who works in the practice. Clinical governance principles will balance the development needs of the population, the practice, the primary care organisation (PCO) and the practice team members' personal development plans (PDPs). Long-term locums (more than six months, say), assistants, retained doctors and salaried general practitioners should all be included in the practice plan. Time is one of the resources that must be considered when drawing up action plan. The practice nurse or health visitor might have nominated osteoporosis as a topic that they wished to learn more about, at their annual job appraisal. The practice manager may be new to the area and intend to visit other practices to learn the ropes, and he or she might take a particular interest in observing how other practices manage their services for the prevention and treatment of osteoporosis. This focus might justify additional time spent on practice visiting.
