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It’s as easy as C. P. D.
How do you know your doing enough CPD?
How do you know your doing enough CPD?
This is a question I asked myself. The best answer I could come up with was to try for the AAPT’s CPD award. If I could meet the criteria for that, then I must be on the right track. It also felt hypocritical of me to be assessing other people portfolios when mine was a very large pile of paper hidden behind my sofa.
So I made the decision to go for the CPD award. It just meant I needed to grab a big glass of wine and sit down with the chaos that passed as my folder. As I begin to get it into some kind of order, I realised that I had done quite a lot of things that fell under the umbrella of CPD. When I began to look over the guidance from the AAPT on CPD points awarding, there is so much stuff that can have CPD point’s award to it. Its not just about attending courses.
Planning a meeting or presentation, taking part in research projects, being an active member of the association, can all accumulate points. Reading an article in a book or on the Internet is all CPD. If we had a little CPD fairy that sat on our shoulder and kept count of everything we do I think we would all be pleasantly surprised.
If it’s relevant to your work and to your profession. If you have learnt something or used the information to improve your working practice then it’s CPD. Then you have reflective learning; points can be gained from taking the time to personally assess what you have learnt and could you use any of this new information to improve your work? Or how you have used this information. It’s that little bit of proof you did not fall asleep at conference!
CPD says it all really.
It’s down to you to Continue your Personnel Development. It’s down to you to take the time to find alternate sources of CPD and not to be reliant on your employer or professional body. It’s down to you to award yourself points for time spent on relevant projects; and it’s down to you to have your CPD folder in some kind of order!
It’s a good feeling to have my folder in order and to show my line manager my new award. My over view sheets are nicely at the front of my folder; all my evidence is in chronological order, my reflective learning all completed. Brilliant I can shove it behind the sofa and pile all future CPD paperwork on top…
Kate Tomkins FAAPT
Katie Tomkins receiving her award from Professor Sebastian Lucas