#OTalk 31th August 2021 – Start as you mean to go on … how are you going to ensure you are prepared for the next HCPC audit cycle?

This weeks chat will be hosted by I am Sarah Lawson @SLawsonOT

For occupational therapists our Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) re-registration window is currently open. How did you feel as we approached the 1 August 2021 and the beginning of our HCPC renewal and audit cycle? Which of the following do you identify with?

Are you a Bull in the China shop? Collecting CPD Certificates, attending anything that says it is free CPD with out any consideration for how this learning benefits your practice or service users. You write lots of reflections, but they are all bit random and you’re not sure how to relate them to the HCPC Standards.

Are you an Ostrich? Do you have your head buried in the sand, you’ll think about CPD if you’re selected for HCPC audit? You’ve managed to escape this time and you don’t need to think about it for another 2 years.

Do you procrastinate and sit on the fence? You have kept some CPD records, but they need organising and you’re not sure how to go about it. You always have plans to get organised next week or next time you have annual leave but that time never comes…

OR 

Are you a strategist? Confident that your CPD Portfolio is up to date, accurate and that you could easily submit your CPD Profile with evidence if you were one of the 2.5% selected by the HCPC for audit? (Hearle et al. 2016; Hearle and Lawson 2020)

You may identify with aspects of some or all of these. You may be newly registered and wondering how to organise your CPD. The aim of tonight’s #OTalk to is help you think about CPD, to start as you mean to go on for the new audit cycle and set some realistic goals to achieve over the coming year or two.

Why me hosting this #OTalk?

I am Sarah Lawson @SLawsonOT, a PhD Candidate researching occupational therapists’ engagement in CPD and their use of the TRAMm Model. I research, think, write, and dream (!) about CPD alongside lecturing @GlyndwrUniversity | @GlyndwrOT and maintaining my clinical skills working @TheChristieNHS 

I am also co-author of A Strategic Guide to Continuing Professional Development for Health and Care Professionals: The TRAMm Model which is also available for members of the Royal College of Occupational Therapists (RCOT) to read via their website.

The TRAMm Model (Hearle et al. 2016; Hearle and Lawson 2020) is based on the premise that Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a personal and subjective journey, as well as our professional responsibility and mandatory requirement of registration. CPD involves the recognition of and engagement in lifelong learning. To be effective we need to Tell others, Record and Apply what we have learnt, Monitor our progress and measure the impact. I am really interested in the amount of learning we do as part of our everyday work and life that could contribute to our CPD if we recognise and record it as such. 

As we begin our new 2 year audit cycle, and renew our HCPC registration (if you haven’t yet renewed, information is available via the HCPC website) how are you going to ensure that you are organised for the new audit cycle? During this chat I’d like to encourage you to think about CPD and to set some realistic goals that we can plan to review at another #OTalk during 2022. 

1. As a start point for tonight’s #OTalk I’d like to take a moment to consider why it is so important that we engage in CPD. Why are we a @The_HCPC regulated profession?

2. As our professional responsibility, do you know and understand what the HCPC Standards for CPD are, how many there are and what they mean? If not, what might help you understand them?

3. Within your everyday work and life how do you recognise that you are learning something that could contribute to your CPD?

4. Reflecting on our learning and development is fundamental to CPD engagement, how do you ensure that your reflections capture your learning along with how you apply this learning in practice?

5. How do you measure/evaluate the impact of your learning and development on yourself and others?

6. What CPD goals are you going to set yourself now?

7. What have you learnt from this #OTalk, how will you ensure that it contributes to your CPD?

References

Hearle, D., Lawson, S. & Morris, R. (2016) A Strategic Guide to Continuing Professional Development for Health and Care Professionals: The TRAMm Model. Keswick: M&K Publishing. 

Hearle, D. & Lawson, S. (2020a) A Strategic Guide to Continuing Professional Development for Health and Care Professionals: The TRAMm Model. (2nd Ed). Keswick: M&K Publishing.

Some Resources to support your CPD

TRAMmCPD

CPD Engagement

Recognising and Capturing CPD Vlog/Podcast Elizabeth Casson Masterclass 

Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC)

HCPC CPD

HCPC Three simple steps to be ready for a CPD Audit

HCPC Recognise, reflect, resolve: The Benefits of Reflecting on your Practice

RCOT 

CPD@RCOT

RCOT Standards for occupational therapy practice, conduct and ethics

Principles for CPD and Lifelong learning

Post Chat

Host: @SLawsonOT from TRAMm Model.

Support on OTalk Account: @colourful_ot

Evidence your CPD. If you joined in the chat you can download the below as evidence for your CPD, but remember the HCPC are interested in what you have learnt.  So why not complete one of our reflection logs to evidence your learning?

HCPC Standards for CPD.

• Maintain a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of their CPD activities.
• Demonstrate that their CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current or future practice.
• Seek to ensure that their CPD has contributed to the quality of their practice and service delivery.
• Seek to ensure that their CPD benefits the service user.
• Upon request, present a written profile (which must be their own work and supported by evidence) explaining how they have met the Standards for CPD