Continuing professional development (CPD) is a new acronym where definitions and potential applications abound. CPD is a process built on the philosophy of lifelong learning, and it needs to be differentiated from continuing medical education as it is referred to by the medical Royal Colleges. Palliative care is a philosophy of care that is applicable to many disease conditions in addition to cancer. It has potential application to any progressive life-threatening disease in which curative therapy is no longer possible and therapy is aimed at palliation. The term ‘palliative medicine’ rather than care’ is misleading in that it may give the impression of a doctor-led movement with an emphasis on symptom control. The success of a personal development plan can be measured in terms of knowledge acquired and new skills gained and thus CPD, and therefore their potential application to improving patient care and application in the practice, locally and perhaps also nationally.