In practice, most registrants will carry out many different types of learning while registered with us
Standard 1: Maintain a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of their CPD activities
(Standards of continuing professional development)
CPD is not just formal courses, a CPD activity is any activity from which you learn or develop professionally, though you should ensure that these complement your practice and enhance the service you provide.
It can be as simple as:
- Reflecting on patient contact at the end of the day
- Discussing and reviewing activities with other members of staff
- Observing how others operate in your workplace
- Adapting your own methods of working
Your CPD activities might be work-based, professional, formal or self-directed and should enhance the service you provide for service users. You should make your own decisions about the CPD that is most beneficial to you, your practice and your career.
Categories
- Work-based learning. For example, reflecting on experiences at work, considering feedback from service users or being a member of a committee.
- Professional activity. For example, being involved in a professional body or giving a presentation at a conference.
- Formal education. For example, going on formal courses or carrying out research.
- Self-directed learning. For example, reading articles or books.
Choosing activities
CPD activities must include a mixture of different types of learning, so you'll need to carry out at least two different types of activity. In practice, most registrants will carry out many different types of learning while registered with us.
If you were audited and had only carried out one type of learning – for example, if you had only read professional journals but had not carried out any other kind of learning – you would not meet our standard.
Completing a CPD profile for audit
Examples
Examples of CPD activities are below. These have been adapted from work done by the Allied Health Professions’ project ‘Demonstrating competence through CPD’ (2003).
- Learning by doing
- Case studies
- Reflective practice
- Audit of service users
- Coaching from others
- Discussions with colleagues
- Peer review
- Work shadowing
- Secondments
- Job rotation
- Journal club
- In-service training
- Supervising staff or students
- Expanding your role
- Significant analysis of events
- Project work
- Filling in self-assessment questionnaires
- Gaining and learning from experience
- Involvement in the wider, profession-related work of your employer (for example, being a representative on a committee)
- Lecturing or teaching
- Mentoring
- Being an examiner
- Being a tutor
- Involvement in a professional body, specialist-interest group or other groups
- Maintaining or developing specialist skills (for example, musical skills)
- Giving presentations at conferences
- Organising journal clubs or other specialist groups
- Organising accredited courses
- Being an expert witness
- Supervising research or students
- Being a national assessor
- Courses
- Further education
- Research
- Attending conferences
- Writing articles or papers
- Going to seminars
- Distance or online learning
- Planning or running a course
- Going on courses accredited by a professional body
- Reading journals or articles
- Reviewing books or articles
- Keeping a file of your progress
- Updating your knowledge through the internet or TV
- Relevant public service or voluntary work
