CPD (Continuing Professional Development)

Please be aware that this entry is taken from the Australiah Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA).

This is intended for registered nurse only, however, if you are interested to find out some other information with regards to the CPD in other profession, you can simply visit their website.

Scope of application

This standard applies to registered and enrolled nurses,

registered nurses endorsed as nurse practitioners,

registered midwives, and registered midwives endorsed

as midwife practitioners. It does not apply to students or

nurses and midwives who have non-practising registration.

Requirements

1. Nurses on the nurses’ register will participate in at

least 20 hours of continuing nursing professional

development per year.

2. Midwives on the midwives’ register will participate in

at least 20 hours of continuing midwifery professional

development per year.

3. Registered nurses and midwives who hold scheduled

medicines endorsements or endorsements as nurse

or midwife practitioners under the National Law must

complete at least 10 hours per year in education

related to their endorsement.

4. One hour of active learning will equal one hour of

CPD. It is the nurse or midwife’s responsibility to

calculate how many hours of active learning have

taken place. If CPD activities are relevant to both

nursing and midwifery professions, those activities

may be counted in each portfolio of professional

development.

5. The CPD must be relevant to the nurse or midwife’s

context of practice.

6. Nurses and midwives must keep written

documentation of CPD that demonstrates evidence of

completion of a minimum of 20 hours of CPD per year.

7. Documentation of self-directed CPD must include

dates, a brief description of the outcomes, and the

number of hours spent in each activity. All evidence

should be verified. It must demonstrate that the nurse

or midwife has:

a) identified and prioritised their learning needs,

based on an evaluation of their practice against

the relevant competency or professional practice

standards

b) developed a learning plan based on identified

learning needs

c) participated in effective learning activities relevant

to their learning needs

d) reflected on the value of the learning activities

or the effect that participation will have on their

practice.

8. Participation in mandatory skills acquisition may be

counted as CPD.

9. The Board’s role includes monitoring the competence

of nurses and midwives; the Board will therefore

conduct an annual audit of a number of nurses and

midwives registered in Australia.

Definitions

Context of practice refers to the conditions that define an

individual’s nursing or midwifery practice. These include

the type of practice setting (e.g. healthcare agency,

educational organisation, private practice); the location

of the practice setting (e.g. urban, rural, remote); the

characteristics of patients or clients (e.g. health status,

age, learning needs); the focus of nursing and midwifery

activities (e.g. health promotion, research, management);

the complexity of practice; the degree to which practice

is autonomous; and the resources that are available,

including access to other healthcare professionals (ANMC

2009).

Continuing professional development is the means by

which members of the profession maintain, improve and

broaden their knowledge, expertise and competence, and

develop the personal and professional qualities required

throughout their professional lives. The CPD cycle

involves reviewing practice, identifying learning needs,

planning and participating in relevant learning activities,

and reflecting on the value of those activities (ANMC 2009).