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Education – Completing CPD

What are CPD education activities?

CPD activities or CPD education are forms of education that health practitioners undertake in order to comply with their mandatory CPD requirements each registration year.

What counts as CPD?

In regards to undertaking education, you can technically participate in any forms of education you wish. However, to the question of does it count as CPD? The simple answer to this is; if it related to your context of practice, it can be claimed towards your CPD requirements once documented.

There are a variety of regular activities that can be considered CPD. It can be formal learning such as a postgraduate course, or an opportunistic unscheduled event from your experience that includes reflection on your practice. Examples of CPD include (but are not limited to):

• Attending a CPD seminar or workshop
• Attending a conference
• Watching a video learning activity online
• Listening to nursing lectures
• Online CPD for nurses or midwives in general
• Writing or reviewing educational materials, nursing articles, journal articles or books Completing a self-directed learning package
• Presenting at an in-service, workshop or developing educational tools
• Undertaking postgraduate course units which are relevant to your context of practice
• Acting as a preceptor, mentor or tutor
• Reflecting on feedback, keeping a practice journal
• Participating in clinical audits, critical incident monitoring, case reviews or clinical meetings
• Participating in a professional reading and discussion group
• Developing policy, protocols, and guidelines
• Working with a mentor to improve practice
• Conducting or contributing to research

Formal reflection and documentation must be undertaken for any of these activities to be contributable towards your mandatory CPD requirements.

CPD Hours or CPD Points?

In Australia, you are required to measure your CPD in units of time - hour by hour. Some providers assign 'points' to their CPD activities, it's important to check with individual providers what their definition of a 'point' is. Not all providers equate one point with one hour.

In addition to this, neither points nor hours are a tradable commodity. If you are being awarded points for any education you complete, consider asking the provider for a certificate outlining the hours of CPD you have obtained. Remember to double-check that every hour of CPD you claim corresponds to one hour of active learning.