REFLECTIVE CPD
Ongoing learning is important to ensure fitness-to-practice and to maintain registration.
Reflective Continuing Professional Development (RCPD) refers to the ongoing process of learning and developing skills and knowledge throughout your professional career. It is crucial to ensure fitness to practice as the field of animal healthcare is constantly evolving with new research findings, techniques, technologies, and best practices.
The AVPRC standards for registration include completion of RCPD on an ongoing basis to help demonstrate fitness to practice. These standards offer a flexible approach allowing each registrant to prioritise their own unique development needs. This approach accommodates a diverse array of activities that foster both personal and professional advancement through thoughtful reflection.
The RCPD Process
There are FOUR simple steps to keeping a great RCPD Record:
Plan: Identify what you want to learn and what CPD activities interest you. Your plan doesn’t need to be super detailed— it’s just a rough guide. You can use this template to plan, or create one of your own.
Do: Complete CPD activities that align with your plan and are relevant to your professional practice. These can be anything from attending conferences to reading articles. There are so many possibilities, such as clinical skills, leadership skills, stress management skills, etc. Check out this list of allowed activities.
Reflect: Simply reflect and consider what you learned in your CPD activity, how it felt when you were learning, and how your CPD activity impacts professional development now and in the future. Reflections are personal and authentic to you. Writing your reflections (in a journal or on a document) is usually how most professionals reflect, but others like using voice memos or videos. Check out resources on reflection at the bottom of this page.
Store: Keep an organised record of your CPD activities and reflections so you're prepared when audited. You could use this excel spreadsheet template or this Word document template to track your RCPD. You can also use NZVNA’s CPD portal. Don’t forget to back up your files on a cloud-based file storage system (e.g. Google Drive).
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Your CPD activity plan should firstly focus on addressing any gaps or areas where you need improvement or additional knowledge to stay safe and current in your field. Beyond that, any relevant RCPD activity is acceptable, provided you can demonstrate how it has contributed to maintaining or improving your professional practice as a veterinary nurse or Allied Veterinary Professional (AVP).
Completing RCPD is now more flexible that it used to be. This acknowledges the diverse needs of each individual in developing as a professional. There are some limits though. These AVPRC RCPD activity guidelines will guide registrants in determining what activities are suitable to count towards their professional development.
Each registrant must use their professional judgement to decide if an activity aligns with their RCPD Plan and delivers worthwhile outcomes.
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Suitable evidence must be collected for all RCPD activities in your record including dates, links, receipts, emails, letters, completion certificates, and a reflective journal.
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You must demonstrate completion of 40 hours of RCPD over a two-year period to meet fitness to practice requirements for registration. This is approximately 20 hours per year.
There is no longer an annual deadline to complete RCPD but when you are audited you must be able to show that you have a record of at least 40 hours over the last two calendar years.
Records from 2023 can be recorded as points (hours) but everything after 1 January 2024 must be formatted as per the RCPD process.
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The new process requires you reflect on your goals and what you have learned when you competed your CPD activities.
Reflection includes evaluating your learning through reflective writing, including self-assessing to determine whether you have reached your goals, and identifying how it benefits your current role and/or career progression.
Reflective skills are built over time. If you do not have much experience with reflective skills, start with the tools listed below:
Goal Setting: A Scientific Guide to Setting and Achieving Goals by James Clear
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The format of your RCPD record can vary, but your portfolio must be clearly documented including the date that it was completed, proof of activity, and a detailed, and meaningful reflection about how the activities helped with learning and advancement of professional practice.
The New Zealand Veterinary Nursing Association has a useful online portal for recording RCPD; or, the following templates can be used. These templates are just a guide. Registrants may use whatever form suits them best as long as the essential criteria are included and the files are stored and easily accessed for auditing.
Documenting completed CPD in 2023 can be completed as per the old system of points (hours) accrual along with certificates of completion. The new reflective process begins 1 January 2024.
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Your record must be kept securely so that it can be accessed at any time. Suitable data storage options for your record include a secure cloud-based file storage system (i.e., OneDrive, Google Drive, or Dropbox) or, the NZVNA MyCPD portal that is designed to support RCPD evidence portfolios.
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Every registrant will be audited at least once every 3-5 years to ensure they have completed the required RCPD activities. During auditing, you must produce a digital link to your RCPD record including all required evidence for at least 40 hours of activities over the previous two calendar years.
If you have not met all the fitness to practice requirements, your application for an annual practising certificate will be individually considered. If you have not completed 40 hours of professional development in the last two years, you may be issued with a practising certificate with a condition to complete professional development hours within a stated time.
Resources
Downloadable poster: Examples of Suitable RCPD
Downloadable poster: Reflective Cycles
Downloadable poster: Learning Through Reflection
Infographic: Easy tips to keep your reflective CPD Record
Frequently asked questions: FAQ