PROVE IT! – PART 1 – EVIDENCING YOUR CPD

BY EILEEN BARON

INTRODUCTION Continuing professional development (CPD) is now generally accepted as the norm for professionals in all walks of life. If you are reading this magazine then you are likely to be a professional with an interest in sports injury rehabilitation and more specifically in soft tissue and performance. This means you will be required by your professional or regulatory body to not only undertake CPD, but to record and store evidence of your CPD activities. Evidence should be stored in a portfolio which may be selected for audit. Potential employers also like the idea of portfolios as it is a good way to get a rounded picture of the applicant. This article will attempt to clear the muddy waters around what you can use as evidence and how to put together this often dreaded portfolio.

JUST DOING CPD IS NOT ENOUGH

Most professionals will be doing masses of CPD without even thinking about it. We all attend workshops and do lots of reading but much CPD is not intentional or planned. In reality you are constantly and automatically (subconsciously or consciously) implementing newfound skills and knowledge into your professional practice. However this is not generally

In the previous issue of sportEX dynamics, editor Bob Bramah looked at how easy it was to undertake continuous professional development. This article explores in more detail how you can prove to others that you have done the CPD by producing a portfolio either as a CPD record, a body of evidence for a specific course or as showcase of your talent to a prospective employer.

enough for the regulatory powers that be.

Recorded proof not only shows

what you have done but should also prove exactly how you have learnt from the experience and in turn how this has changed your practice.

WHY SHOULD I PROVE IT? There are a variety of situations that may require us to prove and show evidence of our competence. These situations may include:

n Maintaining membership of a professional body. n Taking part in regular staff appraisals to prove you have maintained your competence or better still learned some new tricks that move you up the pay scale. n Proving prior learning or meeting the pre-requisites of a course. n Evidencing work done during a course. Most recognised vocational courses are now ‘evidence-based’

THE BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD

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DOING LOADS OF CPD WILL NOT PROVE TO ANYONE THAT YOU ARE

portfolio style courses. n Returning from a career break and proving you have kept up to date even while not working, and are still able to do your job. n Applying for new jobs. Something to ‘wow’ the interview panel.

WHERE DO I START? For every CPD activity you do, you need to be recording four key things: 1. Exactly what you did 2. Dates and times 3. What you learned during the activity 4. Reflections on what the learning

BOX 1: SOME FORMS OF CPD EVIDENCE

n Recognised qualifications n Demonstration n Questioning n Recording of knowledge and reflective accounts n Witness testimony n Professional discussions n Client notes n Use of videos and other media n Photographs n Theory tests and exam papers n Past experiences and achievements n Giving peer-attended presentations n Writing articles in professional publications

sportEX dynamics 2010;24(Apr):24-26