The extended deadlines for declaring completion of the Self-Assessment Guide and the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements have now passed.
Members with odd numbered Certificates of Registration should be mid-way through collecting their credits for the 2019 – 2021 Continuing Professional Development cycle. Those with even numbered Certificates have recently begun to obtain credits for the 2020 – 2022 cycle.
In reviewing the submissions of the first two groups who have completed their CPD cycles, the Quality Assurance Committee thought it would be helpful to remind members that:
- Members with Inactive Certificates are required to participate in the Continuing Professional Development Program. A small number of Inactive members assumed that they did not have to satisfy the requirements of the program. Inactive status is intended to be short term, for a maximum of two years. While away from practice on Inactive status, members are expected to maintain their knowledge and skill so that they may resume practice at a level which would have been expected had they worked continuously.
- Members must retain sufficient information about their CPD activities to permit verification of their participation in CPD events. Members who are asked to provide their CPD records, and who do not submit either formal documentation or sufficient description of the events, will be asked for further information. A description of what information should be retained can be found in FAQ section of the College website.
- There are no provisions in the Quality Assurance Regulation for the extension of the two-year CPD cycle. In some exceptional circumstances, the deadline to provide a Declaration of Completion of the requirements for the prescribed period, can be an extended. The length of the cycles themselves cannot be extended. Any CPD activities which are conducted after the end of a cycle may only count towards the next cycle; the cycle in which the activity was undertaken. The Committee will consider any exceptional personal circumstances which may interfere with a member’s ability to meet the requirements, on a case by case basis.
CPD Audits
The Committee will be conducting audits of 50 members’ CPD records again this year. This will include the records of those members who were required to submit a Declaration of Completion before August 31, 2020 but did not do so, and those who are chosen randomly. Members required to submit their materials will be notified very shortly.
Results of the 2019 audit were provided to members in the January 2020 e-Bulletin. The results were very positive, and it is hoped that with the benefit of that information, the results will be even better this year.
Peer Assisted Reviews (PAR)
The 2020 – 2021 Peer Assisted Review process will begin shortly. Members who did not complete the Self-Assessment process as required will be reviewed, as well as members selected through random and stratified random selection. This year the stratified random selection process will focus on members who have been practicing autonomously between 5 and 10 years.
Many Peer Assisted Reviews have been deferred due to COVID-19, however some members expressed a willingness to participate in a virtual PAR over the summer, with successful results.
Surveys
Surveys have been sent to all members who recently submitted their Declarations of Completion of the Self-Assessment Guide and the Continuing Professional Development requirements, as well as those who participated in the first round of CPD audits. The Quality Assurance Committee is constantly reviewing and evaluating its processes and hopes that all members who receive the surveys will take the time to provide their feedback.