In my business, enterprise risk management, "continuing education" is a must.
Not necessarily continuing formal education - although that, too, but continuing education wherever it is found.
The Internet is a wonderful place for continuing education.
Every day I get a post from AdvisenFPN (https://www.advisen.com/). Advisen, as everyone knows who follows this blog, focuses on insurance news.
All practitioners know we need insurance coverage, but that is not the reason I read the daily email. The email provides me with information that impacts insurers, e.g., when they have to pay, when they go to court. It points up a number of risks that may have slipped my mind or, occasionally, that I never considered.
I am a member of several LinkedIn professional groups. I check for new "threads" (topics) daily.
I also subscribe to several Yahoo lists.
Finally, I confess to being a 5 a.m. news junky; I have to have my "fix" first thing in the day.
Continuing education also means keeping in touch with both fellow practitioners and with those Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who are the backbone of my experts' network. My favorites in the "fellow practitioner" category are those folks who frequently add to my thoughts and sometimes disagree with those thoughts. I don't count "Yes" men (and women) in my list of trusted sources.
The Internet also lets me access the multitude of (U.S.) federal and state Web sites. FEMA probably is the most frequented, but financial sites and medical (HIPAA-related) sites also are bookmarked. The other day I was looking at a distant county's flood history.
I don't "Facebook," nor do I "Tweet."
I may not be gaining Continuing Education Credits (CEUs) by expanding my knowledge outside the brick-and-mortar or electronic "halls of ivy," but I do maintain currency in my field through what might be termed "alternative resources."
I can do that wherever I find a portal to the Internet.
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