Meaningful CPD The Chiropractic Boards CPD It is

Meaningful CPD

The Chiropractic Board’s CPD It is the role of the Board to recognise, accredit and set programmes to ensure the ongoing competence of health practitioners. The Board’s recertification programme is established under s. 41 of the Act, requiring all chiropractors who hold a practising certificate to actively engage in CPD that is relevant to their practice as a chiropractor. CPD activities that encourage participation and self-reflection are most likely to have a positive effect on a practitioner’s practice.

What is CPD is a career-long commitment which must be responsive to the changing needs of individuals, groups and society. The Board recognises that people learn in different ways, therefore, the Board’s CPD programme allows you to self-direct your learning, providing it is balanced against a need for meaningful and relevant evidence. The day you graduated with your degree, you made a commitment to look for opportunities to learn and stay current. For the safety of your patients, you are obliged to remain current on advances and trends in delivery of relevant healthcare services. CPD is about outcomes

Principles of CPD Continuity Look for ways to improve your performance Accountability You are responsible for owning and managing your own CPD Individual CPD is driven by your learning needs and development as an individual practitioner Evaluative CPD reflection should be evaluative rather than descriptive of what has taken place Essential CPD is an essential component of your professional life, it is never an optional extra

How do you know an activity is CPD? When selecting activities, consider the relevance of the activity to the objectives you have set, and whether the activity is likely to meet the Board’s audit criteria. Check the CPD policy as some activities have a maximum number of hours that can be claimed. A question we are asked many times is: Is ________ CPD? You can answer this question yourself by asking: 1. Will it make me a safer and better Chiropractor? 2. Will my patients be safer from what I learn? If the answer is yes, then it is great CPD. It’s all about the outcomes

Seminars, events and activities It is more than just paying the fee Attending a conference or seminar does not automatically guarantee that you have met your CPD requirements. The event in its entirety is not CPD, it is the presentations that relate to your practice that count towards CPD and your reflections should be directed towards those. Each event may have a portion of their speakers and topics that qualifies as CPD but not everything or everyone counts. CPD is about outcomes

Evidence The following is a list of evidence that may apply to CPD activities (as applicable): Attendance sheet with signatures, or certificate of attendance, Where and when the activity was held, Who was the organising body or convener, Who presented and what was the topic(s) presented, Was an agenda prepared, Do you have any notes from the event. Remember to upload your evidence to your online CPD profile Reflection: What did you get out of it, and how will it improve your own practice? If you are the presenter, you could include your subject notes

Articles, journals and webinars Needs to be relevant to your practice as a chiropractor Evidence required: Reflection: What did you get out of it, and how will it improve your own practice? When and where it was provided, Who were the presenters or authors, What were the subjects of discussion, Where was it published, Has it been peer reviewed, You do not need to upload the entire article or journal. The abstract will suffice and contains all the information an auditor requires. Remember to upload your evidence to your online CPD profile

Examples of activities that are not CPD… Internet research on website designs. Interacting with an accountant to understand accounting practices. Activities that form the basics of your job (treating patients, patient education etc). Activities that are focused on building your practice. Just showing up for a conference or event. Evidence is not… An airline boarding pass A photograph of a group of people having dinner An events programme (ie conference programme)

Things to remember Weekly discussions with your colleagues in itself is not CPD, however, if you are discussing a difficult case and you can reflect on the discussion, this could be CPD. CDP does not always result in a positive experience, sometimes you may complete an activity and gain nothing from it. If you reflect on this, it still counts towards your CPD. When undertaking reflective writing, you must be aware of your professional responsibilities. It is important that patients cannot be identified from your reflective writing. CPD is about outcomes and careerlong learning that is relevant to your practice to ensure you are the best Chiropractor you can be.

Reflection The following statements and questions provide guidance when you reflect on your CPD activity: How did the CPD activity contribute to the development of your knowledge, skills or attitudes? With the benefit of hindsight, what are your feelings about it? How useful was it, or not useful? What particular new skills and knowledge did you acquire? How does it fit in with your current practice, understanding or attitudes? How have you or will you incorporate any new understanding or skill you have into your day-to-day practice? As a result of what was learnt what will change in your day to day practice? What new learning needs have you identified to feed forward into your CPD for next year?

A tool for reflective writing There are many frameworks available for aiding in reflective writing, and they all have a common theme. The following are four generic steps in any reflective framework: Steps Starter sentence examples Description • • This is about… and was based on. . . I was working with. . . Assessment • • • After experiencing this situation, I found that… This encouraged me to… I now have a better understanding… Evaluation • • As a result of this… This situation made me realise… Action • • • I believe the use of… will… In the future I… I now plan to…