Frequently Asked Questions - CPD

Continuing professional development (CPD) is how health and social care professionals maintain and improve their knowledge, skills, and performance. CPD ensures you develop the professional qualities required throughout your professional life. CPD is an integral component in the continuing provision of safe and effective services for the benefit of service users. CPD is critical to ensure that you continue to have the up-to-date knowledge and skills necessary to deliver a safe and effective service to service users.

You are required to achieve 30 CPD credits in every 12-month period. This demonstrates ongoing engagement in CPD. The same requirement of at least 30 CPD credits for every 12-month period apply to everyone on the register regardless of their work situation, i.e. working fulltime or part-time. Registrants should refer to the CPD Guidance and CPD Support issued by their Registration Board.

If called for audit, you can apply to your Registration Board to defer submission of your CPD record. A decision to grant deferral will be determined on a case-by-case basis by your Registration Board.

The same 30 CPD credit requirements every 12-month period apply to everyone on the register regardless of your work situation. Registrants should refer to the CPD Guidance and CPD Support issued by their Registration Board.

If called for audit, you can apply to your Registration Board to defer submission of your CPD record if you will be away from work for more than three months. A decision to grant deferral will be determined on a case-by-case basis by your Registration Board.

CPD credits are self-determined on the basis that one hour of new or enhanced learning is equal to one CPD credit. Self-determined means that you decide how many credits to apply to new or enhanced learning you achieved and how this has impacted your practice. You can attribute any fraction of 1 hour to a learning activity. For example, a 15-minute discussion with a colleague that results in new or enhanced learning could be recorded as a .25 credit.

There are no limits placed on how many points you can allocate to  one activity type. The focus should not be accrual of credits, but rather what new or enhanced learning was achieved and how this was incorporated into practice for the benefit of service users.

No. You may complete more than the necessary credits in a given period if you wish. However, credits cannot be transferred or carried forward to the next time period. They are only relevant to the CPD audit period during which they were completed.

No. CORU does not have any role in the development, delivery or accreditation of CPD activities. Each registrant is responsible for identifying suitable CPD activities that will meet their own learning needs, and for allocating CPD credits based on the new or enhanced learning associated with each activity.

Further information on CPD activities is available in the CPD Support issued by your Registration Board. This list of learning activities is varied and not exhaustive. Registrants should identify learning activities that are related to their own learning needs and are relevant to their practice. There are no specific mandatory CPD activities.

For example, for a registrant who is an academic, their record might contain learning around areas of research or teaching skills. Similarly, if you are working in management, your CPD activity should reflect this.

No. This is not a requirement set by your Registration Board. Registrants are responsible for identifying their own learning needs. CORU’s CPD model is flexible ensuring that those in private practice as well as those that work in teams can demonstrate how they meet their Boards requirements.

Professional development planning or performance appraisal may be a feature of some workplaces and can inform the CPD process. It may be useful for registrants to combine both to increase efficiency and maximise the impact on their professional practice.

Yes. Supervision is just one type of CPD activity and many other learning activities are suitable to contribute to your CPD credits. Your learning needs should inform what learning activity will best meet your needs.

Supervising students on placement represents many hours. However, if you do this often it is likely to be a responsibility of your professional role. CPD should not be considered as time spent on an activity only, but rather what new or enhanced learning was achieved and how this informed your practice. New or enhanced learning achieved from supervising students may, for example, come about by dealing with challenging students, preparing resources, high-performing students, or development of teaching skills. Simply having students on placement is not sufficient to claim CPD credits.

No, attendance at a course or workshop is only one way of completing a CPD activity.  A variety of learning activities will be suitable, and a list of example activities is available for registrants in the CPD Support.

CORU’s CPD model is flexible and takes account of individual career patterns, variety of work situations, stages of career and professional development needs. CORU’s approach is flexible recognising a variety of learning opportunities that contribute to professional development.

Learning opportunities may be formal/informal, work based, structured/unstructured or personal experiences. Registrants should be able to embed CPD within their current work situations and incorporate learning activities into their practice. It is also important to note that workload and work-related commitments are not a sufficient reason to defer an audit and such requests will be refused.

Yes. Excellent learning opportunities may arise spontaneously without planning or intention. You should record the learning achieved from unplanned activities in the same way as planned activities.

Dual registrants must comply with the CPD requirements of their Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics. CPD activity can be undertaken in any jurisdiction.  Undertaking CPD is a requirement of everyone on a register with CORU even if you are working overseas.

If you are on a register with CORU and do not practise you are still required to complete and keep records of your CPD. You are subject to your Professional Code of Conduct and Ethics whilst on the register. This code sets the Boards requirements for CPD.

Reflective practice may be on a positive or negative learning activity. The key element is reflecting on how the event or activity will impact your practice in the future.

Reflective practice records should not contain any confidential or identifying information regarding service users, colleagues and/or relevant others. Reflective practice is a record of personal learning and how this has informed or enhanced your practice.

CORU's CPD Record Template is designed to assist and support registrants in complying with their CPD audit requirements. The CPD Record Template that has been supplied on the CORU website is required for those registrants called for audit. The template is designed for audit purposes and may not be extensive enough for some registrants to keep their full CPD record. There is no requirement for registrants to use this template for recording their CPD for their own records. Registrants may choose to keep their records with their professional body or themselves without using the CORU Record Template.

Your CPD documentation should be kept for as long as you are on the Register.

These documents will support you to provide the necessary information for participation in your Registration Board’s CPD audit.  You should keep these documents independent of any audit requirement.

For further information on CPD audits please see the CPD page or  CPD Audit FAQ page on the CORU website.