HCPC CPD audit

Getting the notification that you’ve been chosen for the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) audit can be worrying for any members who are selected. However, the main thing to remember is not to panic. The chances are, you’re already doing enough continuing professional development (CPD) as part of your day-to-day work. 

It is a local decision as to whether protected time can be given to complete the audit. As a registered healthcare professional, you are required to keep your CPD up to date. 

Whilst the HCPC has clear rules on plagiarism, and the work you submit must be your own, you can seek support, and we encourage people to reach out to their colleagues and support networks. You don’t have to do this alone.  

The HCPC has four categories of CPD: work-based learning, professional activity, formal education, and self-directed learning. Most physiotherapists carry out work-based learning as a matter of course, without realising the extent to which it develops knowledge and skills. 

Think back to patients that have stuck in your mind – these are likely to be the ones that you chatted through with colleagues or sought advice on. Reflecting on those conversations and how your approach may have changed all contribute to work-based learning. 

Similarly, acting on patient feedback, and altering your practice demonstrates CPD – this may be simple things, such as adapting an environment, or bigger changes if treatment wasn’t producing optimum results.

If you take students, reflecting on your experience, what you have learned from the placement, and their feedback is also showing CPD. 

If you have submitted incident forms, or highlighted near misses in your work, the subsequent reviews of risk, whether practice changed or not, show reflection and commitment to providing safe and effective practice, which is what your CPD should demonstrate. 

In summary, think broadly about the valuable opportunities to learn and reflect that physiotherapists encounter day-to-day in the course of their normal work, not just when they engage in formal learning.