CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD) STATEMENT - HSCP CPD Sub-Group June 2017 - HSELanD
←
→
Page content transcription
If your browser does not render page correctly, please read the page content below
CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT (CPD)
STATEMENT
HSCP CPD Sub-Group
June 2017Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
FOREWORD
The National Health and Social Care Professions Office is committed to the Continuing
Professional Development (CPD) of the professions it works with and is pleased to endorse this
CPD statement in recognition of that commitment.
The Continuing Professional Development of Health & Social Care Professions (HSCPs) is an
essential component in the delivery of safe and effective services and is core to ensuring the
best possible outcomes for patients and service users. Supporting the CPD of Health and Social
Care Professions provides the public with a workforce that have the necessary knowledge, skills
and professional practices to care for and meet their needs.
As learners, HSCPs need support to engage in education and development that contributes to
the achievement of goals identified in national policies and service plans. It makes sense,
therefore, to have overlap between the learning needs of the individual professional and the
needs of the service and the contexts within which the service operates.
Our vision for healthcare as described in the HSE Corporate Plan, 2015-2017 is to strive for ‘a
healthier Ireland with a high quality health service valued by all’. The ‘Health Services People
Strategy 2015 – 2018 Leaders in People Services’ further endorses the vision and mission of the
Corporate Plan. Goal 4 of the Corporate Plan is to ‘Engage, develop and value our workforce to
deliver the best possible care and services to the people who depend on them’.
It is in the context of these documents and in particular the Health and Social Care
Professionals Act 2005 (as amended) that this statement is developed – it is one of the
functions of CORU the regulating body for the Health and Social Care Professions to ensure that
registered professionals keep their skills up to date by promoting continuing professional
development. Professions not encompassed by CORU equally value continuous professional
development as a core vehicle for maintaining membership and registration.
It is hoped that Health and Social Care Professionals will find this CPD statement a source of
information and guidance.
Finally I would like to thank all of those who have contributed to the development of this CPD
statement.
Frances Conneely
National Health & Social Care Professions Office (April 2017)
1Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
CONTENTS
Chapter Title Page
Foreword 1
1.0 Introduction 3
2.0 What is CPD? 3
3.0 Engaging in CPD – The CPD Cycle 8
4.0 Measuring CPD 12
5.0 How do we integrate learning into practice? 13
6.0 Conclusion 14
References 15
Appendix 1: What drives CPD? 17
2Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
1.0 INTRODUCTION
The HSE Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Statement was originally developed and
published in March 2012 by a CPD sub-group of the Health and Social Care Professions
Education and Development Advisory Group. In 2013, statutory requirements relating to CPD
for Health and Social Care Professionals (HSCPs) were broadly established by CORU, Ireland’s
multi-profession health regulator for fifteen of the health and social care professions (Health
and Social Care Professionals Act, 2005). Several professions are at various stages along the
registration process, and some have had specific CPD requirements established by their
respective registration boards. Therefore, in 2016, a review of the HSE CPD Statement was
deemed timely and necessary to ensure that it reflects CORU’s requirements and
recommendations for engagement with CPD. However, it is important to note that this HSE
CPD statement is inclusive of all HSCPs, whether designated for registration or not, and should
be consulted alongside individual Professional Body CPD Statements.
2.0 WHAT IS CPD?
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the means by which HSCPs maintain and
improve their knowledge, skills and competence, and develop the professional qualities
required throughout their professional life (CORU, 2013). CPD should be an ongoing process
that occurs when undertaking any activity relevant to the role of the professional that provides
new insight and learning by the professional.
2.1 WHY SHOULD PROFESSIONALS ENGAGE IN CPD?
First and foremost, active engagement in CPD is vital to ensure that HSCPs continue to have the
up-to-date knowledge and skills necessary to deliver a safe and effective service to service
users. Furthermore, in order to become a registered HSCP with CORU, an individual must sign a
statutory declaration agreeing to abide by their Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics - it is
under this Code that a mandatory obligation to engage in, and maintain records of CPD is
established.
3Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
There are a wide range of benefits from engagement in CPD for the service users/patients, the
individual professional, the service providers/employers and the profession at large. These
include, but are not limited to the following:
1. Benefits for the service user/ patient / client
a. Receives a high quality service
b. Enhanced outcomes for health and well being
c. Increased confidence in the health service
2. Benefits for the Individual Professional
a. Promotes lifelong learning
b. Increased job satisfaction
c. Improves confidence, knowledge and enhances skills
d. Enhances career opportunities
e. Provides structure and support to meet professional goals
3. Benefits for the Service Providers/Employers
a. Enhances high quality, best practice based services
b. Supports development of an accountable, flexible and skilled workforce
c. Improves staff motivation and morale
d. Provides quality assurance
4. Benefits for the Profession
a. Enhances the status of profession
b. Promotes research and evidence-based practice, thereby increasing professional
recognition
c. Provide stakeholders with evidence of the professions commitment to a high
quality service
Whilst it is primarily the responsibility of the individual HSCP to engage in CPD, research
demonstrates that meaningful engagement in CPD and effective integration of learning into
practice requires a partnership approach between employers, managers and staff (Beddoe and
4Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
Duke, 2009, Boud and Hager, 2012, Fenwick, 2009, O’Sullivan, 2003). In recognition of this, the
HSE Employee Handbook (2016) identifies learning and development as a key priority stating
the goal is ‘a learning culture that prioritises development to ensure staff are equipped to
confidently deliver, problem solve and innovate safer better healthcare’.
2.2 TYPES OF CPD
CPD should be recognised as an ongoing process, undertaken throughout a professional career,
which incorporates both formal and informal (including practice-based) learning (Boud and
Hager, 2012). Moreover, whilst learning activities to address specific CPD or learning needs
may be planned (See Section 3.0), it is important to highlight that many learning opportunities
are unplanned, and can occur in the context of practice. For example, informal learning may
include activities such as reflection on or analysis of a critical incident or peer consultation.
Despite a growing appreciation of how professional development occurs, research shows that
many professionals continue to indicate a preference for formal learning, e.g. attending study
days, conferences or courses (Fenwick, 2009), sometimes failing to identify or appreciate the
learning that occurs through daily practice. This may be partly at least, due to the challenge
posed in recognising, capturing and demonstrating the learning or ‘knowing’ that evolves over
time through practice (Beddoe & Duke, 2009, Boud and Hager, 2012, Fenwick, 2009). As Gould
(2004) suggests:
‘Most workplace learning is non-formal and unplanned, where learning happens all the
time, but is often not identified as learning because what people learn is their practice’.
It is also acknowledged that time spent on a learning activity (e.g. attending courses) does not
guarantee that learning has in fact, taken place or that it will be integrated into practice. CPD
can include any activity in which the professional learns new skills or knowledge that enhances
their practice and contributes to quality service delivery and enhanced outcomes for service
users. The focus therefore should be on the outcomes from learning, rather than the learning
activity itself. Table 1 lists some examples of formal and informal learning activities. Please note
this is not an exhaustive list.
5Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
Table 1: Formal Learning Activities Examples of Types of Evidence or
Supporting Documentation
Post graduate education (e.g. certificate, diploma, Official transcript or copy of diploma from college or
Master’s and Doctorate). proof of enrolment.
Attendance at in-service or external training, course, Certificate of attendance and reflective practice
workshop, seminar or conference. worksheet.
Development of new policy, strategy, programme, training Include copy of strategy, programme etc. and/or
and/or information resources. attendance at meeting and/or reflective practice
worksheet on impact of learning.
Active engagement in research in professional field or Details of research and verification of member’s role.
publication of clinical audit or clinical case study. Copy of publication.
Online e-learning modules or courses. Details of module or learning outcomes, certificate of
participation, reflective practice worksheet outlining
impact on practice.
Practice placement supervisor for student placement. Letter from college confirming student placement
and/or reflective practice worksheet.
Active engagement in supervision or mentoring in a Date, time and key learning form supervision, signed
supervisor or supervisee role. by manager.
Presentation of scientific/ professional work via oral Abstract for poster or oral presentation from
presentation or poster presentation at a professional or conference programme, reference in publication of
scientific conference. abstracts in published journal or online published
abstracts or electronic copy of poster all serve as
evidence.
Supervision and direction of PhD or MSc student project Letter from university/college of individual’s status
work. Can be in collaboration with a university based acting as a supervisor or a co-supervisor of a PhD or
supervisor. MSc student, copy of abstracts and publications of
work undertaken as part of the project and copies of
any co-authorships published in literature.
Professional development planning with manager (PDP) or Development plan summary agreed by manager or
with direct reports. direct reports.
Project management of a small or large task. Documentation of process and description of the role
played as part of the project team. Summary of the
project process and key learning from the process as
well as from the professional outcomes of the
project.
6Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
Table 1: Informal Learning Activities Examples of Types of Evidence or
Supporting Documentation
Active membership of a professional body, Evidence of attendance at meetings
special interest or working group or Active outlining contribution to committee/working
participation in a relevant committee, group and/or reflective journal entry.
network, board or advisory group.
Participation in a journal club. Verification of attendance, reflective
outlining learning and impact on practice.
Peer consultation with other Details of topic discussed, learning gained
professionals/colleagues or Reflection on and impact on professional role
critical incident or complex case.
Professional coaching or mentoring. Reflective practice worksheet on impact of
learning on practice.
Job rotation, work shadowing or Details of job rotation, work shadowing or
secondments. secondment, manager’s signature and/or
reflective practice worksheet outlining
impact on practice.
Organisation of a Journal Club or forum for Agenda of Journal Club and summary of
sharing professional knowledge and keeping topics and knowledge presented and shared
up to date with professional education. by the group and attendance record.
Reading and reflection on professional Details and dates of searches, hyperlinks to
publications, articles or current research. reading materials, books or articles.
Discussion with colleagues of content of Summary of learning point gained from
publications or research work read. discussion.
Reviewing and reflecting on professional Reading review form outlining key learning
standards/ethics, guidelines, policies or points and impact on practice.
procedures.
Writing articles for a newsletter or journal. Article submitted for newsletter or journal.
Maintaining a CPD portfolio. CPD Portfolio.
Maintaining a reflective practice journal or Examples of reflection using a reflective
engaging in individual or peer reflective practice worksheet and impact on practice.
practice.
Problem solving sessions which are team Summary of problems discussed and
based. solutions found with some evaluation of the
merit of each solution and its practicality.
Incident and Near-Miss analysis in a team Summary of learning from each case analysis
setting (can be multi-disciplinary). and evaluation of methods of adapting
systems to prevent further incidents.
Evaluation of multi-disciplinary systems
approach.
7Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
3.0 ENGAGING IN CPD – THE CPD CYCLE
A CPD cycle is a step-by step reflective process in which professionals review their learning
needs, plan to meet these needs, implement this plan, record and demonstrate the impact of
this learning on their professional practice.
CPD Cycle Chart
Review
Demonstrate Reflect Plan
Implement
(Adapted from Kolb’s Cycle of Experiential Learning)
3.1 REVIEW OF LEARNING NEEDS
This is a self-directed review of an individual's knowledge, skills and personal qualities to
identify learning needs relevant to their current and future role. It may include, but is not
limited to, reviewing a competency framework specific to the profession, job description, case
reviews, performance management appraisal or service review.
8Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
It is important to ensure personal objectives align with those of an individual’s department,
employer or business and meet the needs of service users. CORU (2013) requires registered
HSCP’s to develop a personal learning plan to document this process.
3.2 DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A PLAN TO MEET IDENTIFIED LEARNING NEEDS
This stage may be undertaken individually, and/or in consultation with a manager, supervisor
or colleagues. This supports the professional to identify and prioritise their learning needs.
Careful consideration should be given to identifying the appropriate learning activity to meet
identified learning needs and to establish a realistic timeframe in which to achieve this learning
(CORU, 2013). Often, a combination of learning activities is required to meet one learning need.
For example, a range of formal and informal activities such as discussion with a manager,
attendance at training and/or further self-directed reading/research. Remember, CPD is an
incremental process and each learning activity provides knowledge/skills that develop over
time and are utilised in your practice.
3.3 DEMONSTRATE ENGAGEMENT IN CPD
CORU (2013) require registered health and social care professionals to maintain records of
planning and engagement in CPD, as well as to document how this learning has impacted
practice CORU have adopted a hybrid CPD model that measures both input (i.e. time spent on
an activity and recorded as credits) and output (i.e. impact of learning on practice documented
using a reflective practice worksheet). CORU require registrants to maintain a CPD portfolio to
demonstrate engagement in CPD (see www.coru.ie).
Other models for documenting engagement in CPD vary from profession to profession.
Relevant professional bodies will provide guidance on documentation of engagement in CPD,
as well as suggestions on accepted CPD activities relevant to the specific profession.
The most recent CORU Framework for Registration Boards CPD Standard and Requirements
should be consulted as this sets out the requirements for CPD for Health and Social Care
Professions. Some CORU Registration boards (Social Work, Radiographers and Radiation
9Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Dieticians) have also published their specific
CPD Standards and Requirements and these are available at www.coru.ie.
Useful Tools:
There are a variety of tools available to support professionals with their CPD planning and
demonstration of learning. These include:
CORU CPD Portfolio (www.coru.ie)
Competency assessment tool and Personal Development Planning workbook found
within the HSCP-Hub ( https://www.hseland.ie/hscp/Home.aspx ) on the hseland.ie
website.
The Therapy Project Office Continued Professional Development Planning Tools
(Individual and Departmental) – available from HSCP Hub, www.hseland.ie.
Annual appraisal/performance review.
CPD resources from your own professional body.
CPD resources on the HSCP hub on www.hseland.ie
3.4 REFLECTION AS AN INTEGRAL PART OF THE CPD CYCLE
Reflective practice is intrinsic to each stage of a CPD cycle. Firstly, reflection on current
knowledge and skills, strengths or weaknesses as well as future career goals allows learning
needs to be identified. Reflective practice can also be thought of as taking time to review and
examine one’s own knowledge and skill in relation to the expectations of the demands of their
profession. Through reflective practice, professionals consider the learning from a CPD activity,
consider how the activity met the learning need identified, reflected on the impact this has on
current practice and service delivery, as well as identify new learning needs. Reflection in not
merely a record of something that happened – it involves deeper analysis in order for a
professional to learn and make changes to their practice. Documentation of reflection is
10Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
important to give structure to thoughts and gives the process further integrity. It also provides
an accurate record of the learning activity and evidence of engaging in same.
The reflective practice process (or critical thinking) can be guided by asking simple questions:
1. What happened? What event or process is under review?
2. What did I do? How did I feel? Was my response adequate or could be improved?
3. What worked well? What could have been better?
4. What would I do differently, if anything?
5. What have I learnt? Is there anything I need to do next time?
While it is likely that most learning activities will have a positive outcome, there may be times
when the impact is not positive, or the desired outcome is not achieved. In this case reflection
is still valid as there may be important learning to be gained from a negative experience.
Reflection is “an active process which develops self-awareness and learning; and enhances
professional expertise by enabling the practitioner to undertake joined-up thinking i.e. turning
conscious thought into action resulting in a desirable change in behaviour and practice”
(Burton, 2000). Engaging in reflective practice improves the quality of care you give, stimulates
personal and professional growth and helps to bridge the gap between theory and practice.
Reflection can assist professionals to:
Analyse complex and challenging situations
Consider the way you make decisions
Make connections between your non-work activities and your practice
Make it more likely that you will put what you have learned into practice
Improve your problem solving skills and critical thinking skills
Identify future learning needs
11Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
There are many models of Reflective practice, and these are discussed in more detail in the
Health and Social Care Advisory Group Reflective Practice Resource (2013, currently under
revision).
4.0 MEASURING CPD
The models employed to measure CPD vary from profession to profession. Some models
measure time spent on an activity as points, hours or credits and are often termed as input
models that measure time spent on a learning activity. In recent years, there has been a shift
towards trying to measure the outcomes of learning itself, or what is termed output based
models. The reason for this is that some critics contend that simply spending time attending
training for example is not an adequate measure of the learning achieved, and moreover, does
not account for how learning is translated into practice.
CORU have adopted what can be termed a blended model that measures time spent on an
activity using self-assigned CPD credits. However, CORU make it clear that professionals should
consider not simply time spent on a learning activity, but rather the impact of learning on
practice, service delivery and service user outcomes. To this end, CORU include reflective
practice worksheets in the CPD portfolio as a way of demonstrating the impact of learning on
practice.
CORU offer the following guidance to registrants ‘In general, 1 CPD credit equals one hour of
new learning’. However, it is important to remember that credits assigned must reflect the
quality and impact of learning gained from a CPD activity. This model recognises that each
learner is unique and will take different learning from the same activity or may apply it to
practice in different ways. For example, mandatory training which is attended by two
professionals may have very different learning outputs and impact on practice if one is a new
graduate and one is an experienced professional who has attended this training on a number of
occasions to maintain certification. Hence, both may assign different CPD credits to the same
CPD activity. The new graduate might assign full CPD credits for a six-hour training session,
whereas, the experienced professional might only assign 2 CPD credits for a new area of
12Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
training added, or a particular activity that supported them to consider more carefully a
particular issue or incident in work.
As previously highlighted, each HSCP professional body or regulator may have variant models
and it is important to understand the model adopted for your profession. As such, it is difficult
to be too prescriptive when giving guidance on how to measure or assign CPD credits.
5.0 HOW DO WE INTEGRATE LEARNING INTO PRACTICE?
Healthcare professionals should seek to ensure that their CPD has contributed to the quality of
their practice and service delivery – CPD should change the way you work, and lead to
improvements in the way you provide your service. Alternatively, your learning may confirm
that you are already working effectively and that change is not required.
CPD activities should not be viewed as separate to your everyday work – rather they should be
part of and contribute to your work. It is also important to consider and demonstrate how your
CPD benefits the users of your service – depending on where you work, these may be patients,
clients, service users, other professionals, students etc.
CPD should be considered in terms of the outcomes, not just the activities undertaken or the
time spent. This approach places more responsibility on the individual to evaluate their
learning and demonstrate how this has improved their professional performance (Jones and
Jenkins, 2006). Critical thinking and reflection are at the heart of using an outcomes approach
to CPD (CSP, 2014). There are many ways in which we can improve and demonstrate the
outcome of our CPD. These include:
Reflective practice (Critical Thinking)
Reflective writing
Written reviews of problem solving/ project management
Peer review
13Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
Supervision
Mentoring
Giving and receiving feedback
Developing and delivering presentation to colleagues, at workshops or conferences
Involvement in projects
Implementing service improvement initiatives
6.0 CONCLUSION
Continuing professional development is an essential part of every professional's working life. It
involves continually updating knowledge, skills and attitudes, to ensure that best standards of
evidence based practice are maintained and delivered.
The continuing professional development of HSCPs is an essential component in the delivery of
safe and effective services and is core to ensuring the best possible outcomes for patients and
service users. Supporting the CPD of HSCPs provides the public with a workforce who has the
necessary knowledge, skills and professional practices to care for and meet their needs.
A broad understanding of CPD is required so that both formal, informal and practice based
learning is recognised and valued as contributing to safe and effective service delivery.
HSCPs need support to engage in CPD that contributes to the achievement of goals identified in
national policies and service plans. Management at all levels should support HSCPs in
undertaking CPD to meet professional standards and requirements including registration.
14Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
REFERENCES
An Oireachtas. Health and Social Care Professionals Act (2005; as updated January 2017),
Dublin.
Beddoe, L. and Duke, J. (2009) ‘Registration in New Zealand social work: The challenge of
change’, International Social Work, 52(6), pp 785-97.
Boud, D. and Hager, P. (2012) ‘Re-thinking continuing professional development through
changing metaphors and location in professional practices’, Studies in Continuing Education,
34(1), pp 17–30.
Brekelmans, G., Poell, R.F. and Van Wijk, K. (2013) ‘Factors influencing continuing professional
development: A Delphi study among nursing experts’, European Journal of Training and
Development, 37, pp 313–325
Burton, S (2000) ‘A critical essay on professional development in dietetics through a process of
reflection and clinical supervision’, Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, 13, pp323-32.
Chartered Society of Physiotherapists (2014) An Outcomes approach to CPD. Available at:
www.csp.org.uk/professional-union/careers-development/cpd/outcomes-approach (Accessed
13 April 2017).
Christofides, S., Isidoro, J., Pesznyak, C., Cremers, F., Fiqueira, R., van Swol, C., Evans, S.,
Torresin, A.(2016) ‘The European Federation of Organisations for Medical Physics Policy
Statement No. 10.1: Recommended Guidelines on National Schemes for Continuing
Professional Development of Medical Physicists’, Physica Medica 32(1), pp 7-11.
CORU (2013) Framework for Registration Boards Continuing Professional Development
Standard and Requirements. Available at:
http://www.coru.ie/uploads/documents/CPD_framework_document.pdf (Accessed 13 April
2017).
Fenwick, T. (2009) ‘Making to measure? Reconsidering assessment in professional continuing
education’, Studies in Continuing Education, 31(3), pp 229-44.
Filipe, H.P., Silva, E.D., Stulting, A.A. and Golnik, K.C. (2014) ‘Continuing professional
development: best practices’, Middle East African Journal of Ophthalmology, 21(2), pp. 134-41.
Gallagher, L. (2007) ‘Continuing education in nursing: A concept analysis’, Nurse Education
Today, 27, pp. 466–73.
15Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
Gould, N. (2004) ‘Introduction: The Learning Organisation and Reflective Practice – the
Emergence of a Concept’, in Gould, N. and Baldwin, M. (ed) Social Work, Critical Reflection and
the Learning Organisation. Aldershot: Ashgate, pp 1-10
Health and Care Professions Council (2015) Continuing professional development and your
registration. London: HCPC.
Health and Social Care Professionals Education and Advisory Group (2013) Reflective Practice
Health Information and Quality Authority (2012) National Standards for Safer Better
Healthcare. Dublin: HIQA.
Health Information and Quality Authority (2013) National Standards for Residential Services for
Children and Adults with Disabilities. Dublin: HIQA.
Health Information and Quality Authority (2016) National Standards for Residential Care
Settings for Older People in Ireland. Dublin: HIQA.
Health Service Executive (2016) Employee Handbook 2016-2017. Dublin: Human Resources
Division, HSE.
Health Service Executive (2016) Framework for Improving Quality in Our Health Services.
Dublin: HSE.
Health Service Executive (2017) Health and Social Care Professions Education and Development
Strategy 2016- 2019. Galway: HSE.
Jones, R., Jenkins, F. (2006) Developing the Allied Health Professional. Radcliffe: Oxford.
Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential learning: experience as a source of learning and development.
Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Mental Health Commission (2007) Quality Framework Mental Health Services in Ireland. Dublin:
MHC.
Munro, K. M. (2008) ‘Continuing professional development and the charity paradigm:
Interrelated individual, collective and organisational issues about continuing professional
development’, Nurse Education Today, 28 (8), pp 953–61.
O’Sullivan, J. (2003) ‘Unlocking the workforce potential: is support for effective continuing
professional development the key?’, Research in Post-Compulsory Education, 8(1), pp 107-22.
Social Care Ireland (2015) Continuing Professional Development Policy and Portfolio for Social
Care Workers. Available at: https://www.socialcareireland.ie/wp-
content/uploads/2016/03/CPD-Portfolio.pdf (Accessed 13 April 2017). www.coru.ie
16Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
APPENDIX 1 : WHAT DRIVES CPD?
Internationally, an increased emphasis on continuing professional development among health
and social care professions is argued to be due to;
Extended professional careers;
Accelerated dissemination of knowledge, technology and research;
Changed societal expectations;
Increasingly complex, multi-disciplinary work environments;
Linking learning to performance. (Filipe et al., 2014).
Internationally regulatory and professional bodies are increasingly establishing requirements
for various health professionals to engage in CPD. This growing emphasis is also reflected in
various legislative and national policy documents that highlight the importance of CPD for safe
and effective practice, quality service delivery and enhanced outcomes for service
users/patients. For example;
1. The Health and Social Care Professions Act (2005; as amended 2012) established
engagement in CPD as a statutory requirement for registered health and social care
professionals. Under your code of professional conduct and ethics, CPD is a mandatory
requirement. Moreover, CORU, the first multi-professional regulator in Ireland are
empowered to monitor compliance of registered health and social care professionals
with statutory for CPD standards (see appendix 1 for CORU CPD Standards). CORU
(2013, p. 13) require that ‘the registrant must make sure that his/her knowledge, skills
and performance are of a high quality, up to date and relevant to their practice.
Registrants are required to maintain and develop professional competence by
participating in continuing professional development’.
17Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
2. National Standards for Safer Better Healthcare (HIQA, 2012, p. 23) highlight the
importance of CPD for high quality service delivery
‘A service’s workforce is one of its most important resources in delivering safe,
high quality care and support. It is important that the members of the workforce
are skilled and competent to deliver quality care and support and that the
workforce is planned, structured and managed to deliver the service’s quality
and safety outcomes. The people working in healthcare services providing care
and support need supervision and training to ensure they are doing a good job.
As healthcare changes and develops over time, the workforce needs to be
supported to continuously update and maintain their knowledge and skills,
whether they are directly employed or in a contractual agreement.’
3. The Framework for Improving Quality in Our Health Services (HSE, 2016, p. 13) also
recognises the value of CPD for quality service delivery and outlines the need to
‘support continuous learning and development through building quality improvement
skills and knowledge’.
4. Quality Framework Mental Health Services in Ireland (Mental Health Commission, 2007,
p. 43) states in Standard 7.2 ‘The mental health service is managed and delivered by
staff in receipt of planned training and continuous professional development’.
5. National Standards for Residential Services for Children and Adults with Disabilities
(HIQA, 2013, p. 99) and the National Standards for Residential Care Settings for Older
People in Ireland (HIQA, 2016, p. 71) establishes standards for support, training and
development for staff stating ‘as aspects of service provision change and develop over
time, the service supports staff to continuously update and maintain their knowledge
and skills. The training needs of the workforce are monitored on an ongoing basis and
identified training needs are addressed to ensure the delivery of child-centred, safe and
effective residential services for children with disabilities’.
18Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
6. The Health Service Executive Employee Handbook (HSE, 2016, p. 14) identified learning
and development as a key priority stating the goal is ‘a learning culture that prioritises
development to ensure staff are equipped to confidently deliver, problem solve and
innovate safer better healthcare’.
7. Health and Social Care Professions Unit Strategy 2016- 2019 (HSE, 2017) identifies CPD
as a key priority area. It emphasis the value of CPD for professionals and those who
receive services is recognised and appropriate supports provided.
CPD is an ‘integral part of professional activity within the work context’ (Munro, 2008).
Moreover, CPD is a shared responsibility between the individual professional and their
organisation that enhances support and value attributed to ongoing professional
development (Beddoe and Duke, 2013). Thus, CPD is reliant on professional motivation,
personal interest, organisational policy and supports to enable the integration of learning
into practice and affect lasting practice change and enhanced quality of service delivery
(Gallagher, 2007; Brekelmans et al, 2013).
19Continuing Professional Development (CPD) statement
AUTHORS OF THE CPD STATEMENT 2017
This document was written by the members of the CPD sub-group of the Health and Social Care
Professions Education and Development Advisory Group. The CPD sub-group revised the
previous HSCP CPD Statement of 2012 to bring it up to date and relevant with current CPD
expectations.
The membership of the CPD Sub-Group is below.
Margaret Moore, (Chair)
President of Irish College of Physicists in Medicine.
Head of Radiotherapy Physics, University Hospital, Galway.
Catherine Byrne,
CPD Coordinator Social Care Ireland
Claire O’Brien,
CPD Officer, Irish Nutrition & Dietetic Institute
Liz Kelso,
Physiotherapy Manager 1, Carlow / Kilkenny Acute Services
Joan Elliott,
Occupational Therapy Manager, Naas General Hospital
Catherine McKenna,
Director of Radiation Therapy Services, St.Luke’s Radiation Oncology Network
Irene Regan,
President of Academy of Clinical Science and Laboratory Medicine
Frances Conneely,
National Health & Social Care Professions Office
Annette Lyons,
National Health & Social Care Professions Office
20You can also read
