The context of Continuous Professional Development

From the first of January 2023, the “Continuous Professional Development” programmes for the medical community of Australia have faced a lot of modifications brought by the Medical Board of Australia (MBA). What were these changes about? The changes implemented by the Medical Board of Australia were to ensure that providers of healthcare provide high-quality care by adhering to modern or latest trends within education as well as regulations. This article will enlighten you about the changes and guide you on how to meet the most recent CPD standards.

Moving to “CPD Homes”

As per the MBA from January 2024, all practising doctors are required to choose “CPD Homes” and the term refers to a series of activities. CPD Homes includes all-inclusive, monitored and evaluated medical education programmes, which enables doctors to customise CPD based on their learning requirements and is accredited by the Australian Medical Council (AMA).  At present, there are 20 CPD Homes offered from 16 specialist medical campuses and 4 non-campus homes.

Key functions of CPD Homes

Responsible for delivering quality programmes by adhering to Quality Assurance.

Understanding the different learning patterns of candidates and tailoring learning support.

Coordinating programmes by ensuring the activities offered are of high quality and meet the specified requirements.

Ensuring that candidates meet the necessary CPD requirements.

CPD Requirements

Individuals who are to enrol for this programme must complete an “Annual Professional Development Plan” and this should portray the areas (goals) and approaches (strategies) to achieve the complementary time of 50 hours. In other words, a candidate needs to acquire a minimum of 50 hours that include an array of educational activities for three main categories to adopt an all-inclusive professional development experience plan. These three categories are:

Engage in educational activities for a minimum period of 12.5 hours and these should be centred around the skills, knowledge and attitudes obtained through various means like lectures and educational events (webinars).

Reviewing performance where candidates are required to reflect on peer feedback and be involved in self-assessment on cases to improve their practice.

Measuring outcomes by using work-related data and this is to ensure quality derived through research and audits. 

Also to complete the 50-hour requirement, individuals have the advantage of allocating an additional 12.5 hours to any of the above categories which aids them to tailor their CPD activities to their specific needs and interests. Apart from what had been mentioned, candidates are required to stick to the highest standards of patient care and complete CPR (cardiopulmonary) training every three years to maintain competency during critical life-saving procedures.

CPD Candidate profile

All Australian doctors engaged in practice are required to join an accredited CPD Home before commencing their 2024 CPD activities. When choosing a CPD Home it needs to align with the candidate’s scope of practice and they need to log their activities with their choice. When renewing the 2024/25 registration candidates need to mention their CPD Home by affirming their compliance with the CPD requirements of the MBA. Given this fact, certain candidates do not need to register for CPD and they are:

Medical Practitioners with limited registration and these include those who are involved with teaching, research

Practitioners who have been granted an exemption from the CPD standard requirements due to reasons like parental or carer leave, health conditions and other approved causes.

Medical Practitioners with non-practising registration.

Specialist trainees and specialist international medical graduates who fulfil their CPD requirements by participating in initiatives offered by the relevant specialist medical campus.

Conclusion

The programmes offered by the above bodies aim to standardise their CPD programmes to meet the quality educational standards of the AMA. Apart from this, CPD Homes also involve the organisation of CPD programmes, guaranteeing high-quality activities and assisting candidates (particularly doctors) to track their CPD hours by keeping a system to maintain records. Likewise, it helps doctors to fulfil the requirements of culturally safe practices, addressing inequities in health, professionalism and ethical practice.