Keep tabs on your CPD

Published: 27 August 2012

QNU members are reminded to ensure they meet Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements for NMBA registration.

In the past few weeks a number of QNU members have received letters from AHPRA about not meeting CPD requirements for the past registration period.

These were members who declared on their registration renewal form that they had not met CPD requirements for the 2011-2012 registration year.

The NMBA has asked those nurses and midwives to provide evidence they have completed the required CPD hours or make a convincing written submission by 31 August 2012.

If the nurse of midwife does not do this, the NMBA proposes to refuse their application for registration renewal.

QNU Secretary Beth Mohle said members who receive these letters should take them "very seriously".

"If you do not do the extra CPD hours or fail to make a convincing submission by the 31 August deadline your registration is likely to be cancelled, which means you can’t practise," she said.

Under the NMBA CPD Registration Standard, most nurses and midwives are required to complete 20 hours of CPD each year.

Members who hold both nursing and midwifery registration must complete 20 hours of CPD relevant to each of their registrations.

However, if CPD activities are relevant to both nursing and midwifery, those activities can be counted towards each CPD portfolio requirement (in other words, if you are a nurse and midwife and you complete an hour of CPD which is relevant to both nursing and midwifery, that hour can be counted towards the 20 hours required for nursing, as well as the 20 hours required for midwifery).

Nurses and midwives who hold scheduled medicines endorsements or endorsement as nurse or midwife practitioner must complete an extra 10 hours each year in education relating to their endorsements.

"Many nurses and midwives may be accumulating CPD hours without realising it, simply through everyday professional activities such as reading professional journals, attending in-service sessions, learning new IT skills or participating in committees," said Beth.

Beth said the NMBA has provided guidance on what can count towards CPD.

"I strongly advise members go to the QNU website and read the AHPRA FAQ on CPD—particularly question 8 which outlines the kind of activities which can be counted towards CPD," she said.

What counts as CPD?

The following activities, amongst others, can be counted as CPD (this list is not exclusive):

  • Reflecting on feedback and keeping a practice journal
  • Participating in clinical audits, critical incident monitoring, case reviews and clinical meetings
  • Developing skills in IT, numeracy, communications, improving own performance
  • Writing or reviewing educational materials, journal articles, books
  • Reading professional journals or books
  • Developing policy, protocols or guidelines
  • Working with a mentor to improve practice
  • Presenting at or attending workplace education, in-service sessions or skills workshops
  • Undertaking relevant online or distance education.

Reading tqn can be counted towards your CPD if you use it as a reflective exercise and record your learning and analysis in a reflective journal.

For more information about keeping a reflective journal search ‘reflective learning’ on the QNU website.

The QNU website also contains links to an online CPD program developed by the Australian Nursing Federation which features PD courses and tutorials, and provides individual PD records for participants.

Nurses and midwives must keep written documentation that demonstrates evidence of completing the required CPD. Documentation of self-directed CPD should include dates, a brief description of the outcomes, and the number of hours spent in each activity.

The QNU has also developed a downloadable Record of Continuing Professional Development document to help members keep track of CPD activities, which is available www.qnu.org.au/cpd-record

Keep your CPD record for three years

Nurses and midwives are required to keep evidence of their CPD for three years.

The NMBA has the power to audit practitioners’ compliance with all registration standards, including auditing whether a nurse or midwife has completed the required CPD hours.

If you are selected for audit, you will likely be asked to provide evidence of your compliance with the CPD requirements for the past three years.

It is therefore very important to keep all CPD evidence for three years. You might like to keep a folder of all of your CPD evidence in a safe place at home.

If you are not practising, you will still need to meet your CPD requirements—even if you are taking leave from work, or you are not currently employed.

The NMBA does not recognise any pro-rata arrangements. For example, a nurse who has been on maternity leave for part of the year will still be required to meet the full CPD requirements for the year.

Nurses who hold non-practising registration with the NMBA for a full registration year are not required to meet the CPD requirements.

However, nurses and midwives should approach this registration option with caution, as the QNU is aware that some employers take the view that nurses must maintain full general registration with the NMBA, even on periods of extended leave.

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