Keeping evidence of your CPD The Occupational Therapy Board of Australia (OTBA) has indicated that it will audit the participation of registered occupational therapists in professional development. Each year you will submit a report form outlining what you have done and demonstrating that you have met the required 30 hours across the relevant categories however, this form does not in itself, provide evidence that you have done these activities. The Occupational Therapy Australia website provides a PD tracker (http://www.otaus.com.au/pdtracker/add-activity) which allows you to record your CPD activities as you do them. This site also allows you to upload copies of documents to verify you have participated in the activity such as certificates of attendance, journal citations etc. The focus of professional development is on what you have learned through the activity rather than purely participating in the activity. The OTBA report form asks you to identify the goals you have for your CPD and the records you keep of the activities you do will need to include a statement about the relevance of the activity to your work as an occupational therapist. For example, if you wish to verify the time spent developing a paper for presentation at a conference you should note the reason why you are claiming this time as well as having a copy of the conference program verifying that you did present. There are some activities that have components that could be claimed in both formal and informal learning activities. For example: participating in a journal club is listed under formal activities, however the reading and review of journal papers, an activity of preparation for the journal club, should be claimed under informal learning activities. The OTBA asks that a portfolio of evidence of CPD activity be completed. Examples of evidence include certificates or awards for courses completed, certificates of attendance for conferences or workshops, descriptions or notes of self directed learning activities completed, copies of literature reviews, case studies, journal club notes, reflective journal entries etc. A description of a portfolio and its component parts appears below, as outlined in the OTBA Guidelines on continuing professional development. It would be prudent to have a folder or filing system to keep track of this evidence for your CPD so that you can compile a portfolio for each year and be able to produce it if asked. As you complete activities you can document them on the relevant forms and save them to your folder or keep a copy in your filing system. A comprehensive range of evidence collection forms follows please feel free to amend them to suit your needs. Photocopy the recording pages and use them as required.
Definitions CPD Portfolio means a collection of documents which demonstrate professional development undertaken. The portfolio may include: evidence of formal learning activities undertaken or conferences attended certificates issued upon completion of CPD activities by a training or education provider records of any informal CPD learning activities records of activity in the category engagement with the profession, and/or descriptions of a learning experiences and examples of how the learning has been applied in practice Practice means any role, whether remunerated or not, in which the individual uses their skills and knowledge as a health practitioner in their profession. For the purposes of this registration standard, practice is not restricted to the provision of direct clinical care. It also includes using professional knowledge in a direct nonclinical relationship with clients, working in management, administration, education, research, advisory, regulatory or policy development roles, and any other roles that impact on safe, effective delivery of services in the profession. Professional development activities means participation in formal and informal learning activities, such as attendance at courses or conferences, learning reflection, supervision, mentoring or coaching, involvement in communities of practice; peer review and support activities and evidence-based practice activities, as well as informal learning gained through experience and interaction with colleagues. CPD Record is the method by which the practitioner documents the CPD activity undertaken. The template provided with these guidelines is an example of how a CPD Record might be produced. CPD Records should contain sufficient evidence to support any claims and be produced as evidence should the practitioner be audited. Reflection is the process of thinking critically about one s practice. This may involve consideration of assumptions and alternative approaches, comparison to the practice of colleagues, considering the potential relevance and application to practice of new knowledge, acquired through reading, formal learning or other CPD activity. Reflective practice journaling involves detailed reflection and writing with a focus on developing competence and quality of practice. A reflective practice journal entry might include planning CPD, goal setting, a summary of a learning activity/new learning; interpretation of the strengths, weakness or relevance of the learning for practice; potential change to practice; action planned; additional learning or CPD required. A written record of reflection must be retained if reflective practice journaling is to be claimed as informal learning for CPD hours. Extract from OTBA Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Registration Standards
Supervision/Mentoring Record This form could be used to record individual and group supervision and mentoring. Participants will need to sign to confirm their participation. Supervisee/ Mentee Supervisor/ Mentor Supervision Goal/s Registration No Registration No Period of Supervision Date of Session Session Objective Hours Supervisee Signature Supervisor Signature Reflections on supervision for period (impact on practice, specific lessons learned, etc.)
Individual Learning Reflection Form This form could be used to record all individual and self directed learning. Critically appraising a topic or paper can be recorded here also. Name Date Registration No Activity (eg. learning project, quality improvement project, literature review) CPD Category Hours Claimed This activity has been prompted by my need to learn about How was this activity carried out? How was this activity evaluated in terms of meeting my goals? How was this activity evaluated in terms of contribution to occupational therapy practice? References for follow-up Signature Date
Peer Consultation Record This form should be used record each series of peer consultation/peer review meetings during the registration period. Use a new form for each series. Name Date Registration No CPD Category Date Hours No. of peers Goal of meeting Implications for practice Signature of Peer for verification Reflections on the meetings/outcomes during this period Signed Date
CPD Plan Name Registration number Date I need to learn more about - I will do this by - The outcome was - What I still need to do - Reflections on the past year why I achieved a positive outcome/ why I achieved a negative outcome What I need to do differently next time. Time involved in developing this plan Time involved in reviewing this plan