Continuing Professional Development
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the way in which registrants continue to learn and develop throughout their careers so that they keep their skills and knowledge up to date and are able to practise safely and effectively.
CPD is a compulsory requirement of the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registration and also of College membership. All registrants must ensure that ongoing CPD is maintained.
5 Standards of CPD
Every time you renew your HCPC registration, you are required to declare that you have, and will continue to meet their standards of CPD:
- 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 your 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
- Present a written profile containing evidence of your CPD upon request.
Retaining your CPD Records
All members are required to record their CPD activities in an up-to-date record; a portfolio. If you are selected to submit a CPD profile for audit, a well-maintained CPD portfolio will prove invaluable.
Members can record their learning using our Online CPD Record and access a wide range of practical and easy to use features such as uploading supporting documents, downloading part or all of your recorded activity, adding reflective notes, tracking your progress according to categories and activity types and so much more.
HCPC CPD Audits
Podiatry registrants renew their HCPC registration every two years and each time, 2.5% of registrants are selected at random to submit a profile of their CPD for audit.
Newly graduated professionals are exempt from the audit selection process at their first renewal of registration after graduation, as some time is permitted for them to adjust to practising life and undertaking CPD.
The College is here to assist members in meeting the CPD Standards, support those who are randomly selected for audit, or simply wish to find out more about CPD and the various services and tools we have in place.
College courses
Whether you're looking to refresh your knowledge or to learn something new, we deliver a wide range of short CPD courses and training that are delivered face-to-face, online or via our branches.
Course approval
Course organisers running a course for use within podiatry are welcome to submit their course, via an application form along with relevant documentation, to the Royal College of Podiatry for approval. The content must be podiatry specific with references to clear evidence base and uses of the proposed techniques within podiatry. If the subject is deemed to be an extension of practice, we especially recommend that approval is sought to ensure that our members who attend this course will be covered by their College insurance to use the techniques learnt; although College approval is not mandatory our members are more likely to attend courses that are approved by the College as they are viewed as more credible.
The application process
An administration fee of £550.00 is payable to the Royal College of Podiatry (via cheque, debit/credit card payment or bank transfer - please liaise with courses@rcpod.org.uk to make a payment) and must accompany the application form with all other available and relevant correspondence:
- A copy of the full programme or timetable
- A copy of the course syllabus (to include evidence-based content)
- All specified learning materials or handouts
- A copy of the evaluation form (template available)
- A list of lecturers and brief CVs
Upon receipt of your fee, your application and supporting documents will be forwarded to the review panel made up of representatives from both the Committee for Academic and Clinical Governance and the Faculty of Podiatric Medicine for assessment. Expert reviewers will be invited onto the panel when required. During this time, they may request additional information or clarification, and this will always be sent to you in writing. Once all queries have been satisfied, your application will then be referred to the Committee for Academic and Clinical Governance for ratification.
Approval for successful applications is granted for three years and the course can be run as many times as required, subject to receipt of ongoing information. Re-approval will need to be sought when the three years are up or if significant changes are made during the approval period. Providing we receive notification well in advance (ie, at least three months), details of upcoming approved courses and events are listed in our bi-monthly publication (The Podiatrist) and on the website free of charge. Notification forms which are to be completed and returned in advance of each course will be issued when approval is confirmed.
Send your completed Course Approval application form and supporting documentation to: courses@rcpod.org.uk
(For assistance with completing the form please see Course Approval guidance for course organisers)
CPD Points
CPD points can be assigned to your course and should be calculated as follows: "One hour of activity equals one CPD point" (excluding breaks). Once you have calculated the CPD points for a course, you can confirm this to attendees by way of a certificate or letter of attendance, or both. The College will update members’ records and issue certificates of attendance after each course has taken place, and upon receipt of the following:
- A signed register of participants (preferably typed), giving full names, membership numbers and current addresses
- A summary evaluation form
- Administrative fee of £5.00 per person
Please note: we strongly recommend applications are submitted at least six months before the course is first due to take place, as this allows time for any feedback and adjustments to be relayed to and considered by the applicant. It also increases the likelihood of your course being included in The Podiatrist, the publication that our members receive bi-monthly.