Mandatory completion of CPD has returned in 2021 following the Medical Board of Australia and the Medical Council of New Zealand approved exemption for 2020 due to the difficulties posed by COVID-19.
There is six weeks left to complete CPD requirements for this year. Fellows and Associate Fellows are urged to avoid leaving it to the last minute to ensure they have completed the required hours of CPD activities. CPD is required to be completed annually between 1 January and 31 December. Members have until 31 March 2022 to complete all entries in their CPD record for the 2021 calendar year.
Fellows are required to achieve a minimum of 50 hours per year including a mandatory Professional Development Plan (PDP) and Associate Fellows are required to achieve a minimum of 25 hours per year including a mandatory PDP.
FRACMAs and AFRACMAs are reminded that attendance at the College’s weekly Member Forums counts towards CPD activities and for those who attend, your record will be updated to record your attendance. RACMA’s Monthly CPD Webinars are recorded and available on the website under Resources and if you hold dual Fellowship with another College you can record attendance at their Annual Science Meetings/ conferences.
Those who continue to be impacted by COVID-19 can use work activities undertaken in direct relation to managing the Pandemic at their workplace. For example:
- webinars, Zoom or Microsoft Teams sessions with Chief Medical Officers, Health Department officials, Chief Health Officers, regional health authorities or medical leadership groups
- developing new policies, protocols, or care pathways to be applied in your health service or other work environment during COVID-19
- collecting, developing, sharing or curating data, information, knowledge or educational materials to support best practice healthcare during COVID-19
Broader healthcare industry online conferences can also be recorded to support your CPD requirements, providing they relate to leadership and management.
Information to support Members with CPD guidance can be found in the RACMA CPD Handbook. If you are a New Zealand Member, please be sure to review the specific requirements of the MCNZ.
If you have any questions, please email cpd@racma.edu.au.
Author: Felicity Gallagher
18th November 2021