The current movement in continuing professional development (CPD) embraces the concept of life-long learning, with the ultimate goal of positively influencing patient outcomes. Research has demonstrated that traditional methods of continuing education (CE) do not meet the professional needs of health care providers in terms of having a positive influence on patient care or cultivating life-long learning. Rather than to simply encourage clinicians to attend an organized or structured continuing education activity, the trend in CPD is to cultivate a more engaged participant who selects learning opportunities in a self-directed and purposeful way, depending on his or her individual educational needs.