How do you approach CPD to ensure HCPC compliance?
Daisy Shale
Senior Medical Examiner’s Officer
Sheffield Office
I honestly see this as a challenge, not a chore – learning and developing skills and knowledge is part of being a biomedical scientist. Changes and development occur continuously within medicine and science, but maintaining CPD can be challenging for those who work in non-laboratory roles, for example management, training or research.
I look at using a mixture of observation visits, theory, discussions with peers and case review, when approaching CPD. For example, voluntary work as an external auditor, observer days in other lab disciplines and other areas – radiology and GICU, and refresher days in the laboratory to review advances in technology. I focus on gaining further insight into the pathology of disease, diagnosis, prognosis and correct treatment of conditions throughout medicine as a whole.
I think it is important to look at things outside your scope of practice, and to be able to link back to your role and broaden the scope of your knowledge.
It is also important to interact with other professionals – biomedical scientists can be confined to labs and have limited interactions with others, and we don’t always appreciate how the work we do influences clinical decisions and the effect that our work has on patients.
The knowledge, relationships and understanding gained from CPD activities makes me appreciate that there is always something new to learn. So take a
chance, do the course, arrange the visit, interact with others – you may just surprise yourself and enjoy it.
Caron Roberts
Cytology Manager, Clinical Cytologist
Royal Derby Hospital
When I first started within cellular pathology as a trainee, CPD just seemed to happen through internal training and attendance at conferences and training days. However, people kept little documentation, apart from a file of attendance certificates.
As time progressed, there was more focus on CPD schemes and gaining points for activities, again, with little thought about doing more than filing certificates.
The turn of the century was when it really dawned on me that perhaps I should be doing a little more – creating a log, perhaps a little reflective practice, as well as filing my certificates.
Unfortunately, this seemed to coincide with changes within the NHS, including significant increases in workload and decreasing funding for training. This meant that achieving CPD targets became more of a challenge for everyone.
A request by the Health and Care Professions Council for audit of my CPD
in 2011 was a reality check, as I scrabbled around to pull everything together.
Today, CPD remains a challenge. Mandatory training is not a problem, but funding for days out? You have to take your turn. Work pressures mean that there is little time for recording what I am doing and “reflection” often occurs sometime after the event, when I realise
I haven’t done it.
Perhaps I need to be a little more creative and use the technical gadgets we now all carry around with us to “record on-the-go”, rather than scrabbling around when my name next gets called.
Diana Jackson
Biomedical Scientist in Andrology
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS FT
I began to build a portfolio of CPD activities, ensuring that I had a mixture of activities that were not
only beneficial to myself, but also to the service users. My CPD has covered areas including work-based learning, through giving feedback forms to patients and acting on feedback to improve our service and practice. I’ve completed professional CPD, in the form of presentations, and formal CPD through an IBMS Higher Specialist Diploma in Leadership and Management.