Continuing professional development (CPD)

CPD standards

The RCT uses the CPD standards set by the HCPC. You must:

• Maintain a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of your CPD activities
• Demonstrate that your CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current or future practice
• Seek to ensure that your CPD has contributed to the quality of your practice and service delivery
• Seek to ensure that your CPD benefits the service user
• On request, present a written profile, in your own words and supported by evidence, explaining how you have met these standards

CPD audit

Each year, the RCT Audit Panel selects a random sample of registrants for audit. If you are selected, you will be enrolled on IPEM’s CPD audit e-learning, which explains what to include in your submission and the standards you need to meet.

If you are selected for audit, the RCT will ask you to upload your Summary of CPD Activity form to IPEM’s CPD portal. Paper submissions are not accepted by email or post.

The auditors will give you feedback on your submission. They will tell you whether it meets the audit standards and, if not, what you need to change.

Recording your CPD

What matters most is what you gain from each CPD activity, not how long it takes. For each activity, record the learning outcomes and, where relevant, how you applied them in practice.

Almost any activity can include an element of CPD. It is up to you to recognise and record the learning outcomes. Your CPD should cover a range of activities:

• Work-based learning
• Professional activities
• Formal and educational learning
• Self-directed learning
• Other

For a list of possible CPD activities, see RCT types of CPD activity and examples.