Continuing professional development

A plus symbol by an entry means it is for logged in CSP members only.

• Q: How can I support and encourage learning in my organisation?
• Q: What is reflectice practice and how do I do it?
• Q: Is there a set amount of CPD I need to do each week?
• Q: Am I entitled to protected CPD time?
• Q: What do I need to know about continuing professional development?
• Q: What can I do to prepare for Health Professions Council re-registration?
• Q: I want to return to physiotherapy practice after a career break. Where do I start?

What can I do to prepare for Health Professions Council re-registration?

The Health Professions Council is an independent, UK-wide regulatory body responsible for setting and maintaining professional standards for allied health professionals (AHPs) in the UK.

What are the HPC CPD standards linked to re-registration

Since July 2006 physiotherapists, together with other AHPs, must meet CPD standards laid down by the HPC in order to remain registered. The standards require you to:

1. maintain a continuous, up to date and accurate record of your CPD activities
2. demonstrate that your CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current or future practice
3. seek to ensure that your CPD has contributed to the quality of your practice and service delivery
4. seek to ensure that your CPD benefits the service user
5. present a written profile containing evidence of your CPD upon request

To monitor compliance with these standards, the HPC audits a random sample of registrants from each profession on an ongoing, two yearly basis. If audited, you will be expected to submit a written profile, as per Standard 5, to demonstrate how you meet Standards 1-4:

• The first physiotherapy audit will take place in April 2010.
• The registration cycle audited will be May 2008 – April 2010.

The HPC website has full details of the CPD standards process, including guidance documents and example profiles for most professions. The CSP has also produced an information paper on the HPC CPD standards. The CSP examples of completed profiles, approved by the HPC, are also available for:

• Manager
• Superintendent
• Clinical specialist
• Junior
• Researcher
• Educator in HE

What about support workers/physiotherapy assistants?

The English Department of Health and Scottish Executive are currently considering the regulation of health care support workers. Should it be deemed appropriate to require all health care support workers to be registered with the change to HPC, support workers may also be required to demonstrate to the HPC that they meet appropriate CPD standards.

What does this mean for my practice?

You must: keep an ongoing record of the CPD activities you undertake from now onwards, record what you have learnt from them and how this learning has impacted on your practice, service delivery and the service user eg patients, carers, other AHPs, staff, students.

How does the CSP support me in this?

Keep an ongoing record of your CPD in the form of a portfolio. A portfolio will contain the evidence of your CPD from which you can select information to be used to meet the HPC CPD requirements. The CSP can provide you with a range of tools to:

• help you capture evidence of learning from your CPD which can either be stored in, or used to structure, a portfolio
• help you think broadly about your CPD activities and their impact on your practice overall.