1. Purpose
The auditing of member’s participation in the RACMA Continuing Professional Development program is part of the ongoing evaluation and assessment process.
2. Scope
Applies to Fellows and Associate Fellows of the College.
3. Keywords Definitions
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Program, Participation, Compliance
4. OBJECTIVES
The College has adopted a multi modal approach in order to increase rigour and quality assurance, utilising the capability of the MyRACMA platform to record activities and associated reflection and/or evidence.
The Medical Council of New Zealand and the Medical Board of Australia have standards that relate to this policy.
The RACMA Constitution, October 2016, also refers to the maintenance of professional standards in sections 7, 8 and 9.4-9.11. This is specifically referred to in section 9.5:
‘The College may undertake an audit from time to time or on an ongoing basis to determine compliance by a Member or Members with the Board’s standards for participation in continuing education’.
5. Intent
To ensure that members are participating and achieving CPD compliance, the audit is conducted in three parts:
- as a quarterly maintenance audit
- as an annual certification audit
- as an annual compliance audit
There may also be random audits conducted by the regulatory authorities – Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA) on behalf of the Medical Board of Australia and the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ)
6. Body of Policy
6.1 Audit Types and Procedure
6.1.1 Maintenance audit
A CPD participation report is generated quarterly and tabled for discussion at the CEP Committee meetings. This report details the number and percentage of participating Fellows and Associate Fellows in each jurisdiction and as an overall figure. This report alerts coordinators of non-compliant participants requiring follow up. A participation report on the current and preceding calendar year is provided for comparison.
A CPD compliance list is generated and circulated to the jurisdictional CPD Coordinators in April each year. This follows the deadline of March 31 for the logging of CPD activities for the previous calendar year. The Coordinators then encourage Fellows and Associate Fellows within their jurisdictions to log their activities and provide support and guidance where necessary.
6.1.2 Annual certification audit
The closing date for participants to log CPD activities for a calendar year is 31 March of the following year. The jurisdictional CPD Coordinator then reviews individuals logged activities and electronically signs off on their request if requirements are met. The Chair of the CEPC gives the final approval before annual certificates are made available through the individual’s portal in MyRACMA.
6.1.3 Annual compliance audit
The deadline for the logging of CPD activities platform in MyRACMA is March 31, with the final approvals being undertaken in May of each year. In August of each year, participants who have not logged sufficient activities to meet the CPD requirement will be contacted to advise of their non-compliance.
6.1.4 Regulatory authority audits
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Authority (AHPRA) on behalf of the Medical Board of Australia and Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) may audit participants at any time. All members are responsible for keeping evidence of their CPD activities for a period of three years in case of audit.
7. Non Compliance
Non-compliance of CPD requirements is a breach of the Constitution. Any members who are deemed as non-compliant will be provided with the opportunity to remedy the situation. If a member does not respond to offers of remediation, the Board may determine to remove membership.
ASSOCIATED DOCUMENTS
RACMA Constitution – October 2016
CPD Handbook
Medical Council of New Zealand – Recertification and Continuing Professional Development – April 2018
Medical Board of Australia – Registration Standard: Continuing Professional Development – October 2016
Approval Date: December 2018
Review Date: December 2021
Review By: Continuing Education Program Committee