COMMUNIQUE

 

Meeting CPD requirements the correct way

 

 

Dr Nthabiseng Metsing

Head: Professional Development, SADA

 

 

As the year draws to an end (a very frantic year might I add), it is important for practitioners to wrap it up diligently. By this we would like to inspire all practitioners to ensure that they reach all the required continuous educational units. We all know that healthcare practitioners have a responsibility to continually update their professional knowledge and skills for the end benefit of the patients or clients. Over the past nearly two years, service providers have had to adapt to the virtual reality that the Covid -19 pandemic has compelled us into, this has meant that a lot of the CPD events in 2020/2021 have had be completed as webinars. This was in an effort to reduce the number of persons gathering at venues, in line with the Covid -19 regulations but also ensuring that healthcare workers still manage to meet their HPCSA obligation.

We cannot over emphasise the importance of compliance because mandatory random audits are conducted to ensure this compliancy. Once a practitioner's name has been selected, they are required to submit a CPD portfolio to Council within 21 days. Non-compliant practitioners will be given six months in order to comply. After the period of 6 months a practitioner will again be audited and if there is still non-compliance, the Professional Board will consider an appropriate action to take against the said practitioner.

While we encourage members to comply, we would also like to caution members about the importance of attending webinars that are offered by accredited service providers and to also attend webinars or events that fall within their scope of practice. Before we go any further let's clarify a few terms.

Accreditors are a group or institution appointed by a Professional Board to review and approve applications for the provision of CPD activities (within its profession's ambit) by organizations and individuals without accredited service provider status; to monitor these activities; and to revise continuing education units (CEUs) allocated where the provider failed to comply with the rules and regulations of the CPD guidelines. Professional Boards may delegate their responsibility for accrediting service providers to Accreditors with the mutual agreement of the Accreditor.

Accredited Service Providers are the profession specific higher education institutions and departments, professional associations or formally constituted professional interest groups who meet the specified criteria and have been accredited by the Board/ or its designated Accreditor to present learning activities for Continuing Professional Development.

 

 

Service Providers

There are two broad categories of service providers: (1) Accredited Service Providers and (2) Service Providers. Both groups of Service providers offer CPD learning activities to health practitioners. While there are different criteria and application processes for each, there are similar roles and responsibilities.

Accredited Service Providers are any one of the following:

• Tertiary training institutions

• Professional associations

• Formally constituted professional interest groups that have a professional identity and

• are aligned with a training institution, a professional association or an international institution.

Service Providers are any one of the following:

• Organisations and associations as under accredited service provides, but who choose not to apply for accredited provider status

○ Individuals

○ Organizations/Institutions/Societies such as: o public and private hospitals; o private non-profit groups;

○commercial enterprises or companies that support health professionals through products or services; schools; o non-government organisations

Accreditation period

The accreditation period for accredited service providers is valid for one year while for service providers it is valid for the period indicated by the accreditor. It is important for delegates/attendees to receive their certificates after attending a webinar/event. The certificate should contain:

○ The accreditation and activity number (a board specific identification) (e.g., MDB001/12/09/2008) o The topic of the activity (ethics, human rights and health law must be specified separately) o The level of the activity o The number of CEUs for that activity o The attendance/completion date

○ The name and HPCSA registration number of the attendee

While the HPCSA may require all practitioners to keep up with their continuous professional development, it is important for members to know that these CPD events do not equate to a professional qualification. Members are encouraged to obtain a formal qualification should they wish to focus on more specialised service delivery in the surgeries. A post graduate qualification may include anything from a diploma to a PHD and anything in between.