Continuing professional development
Continuing professional development (CPD)
What is CPD?
Continuing professional development (CPD) refers to the undertaking of learning and developmental activities that contributes to your ongoing professional competency. This could mean maintaining, developing or learning skills that can help you to retain your expertise, enhance your credibility, prepare you for a promotion, or to embrace new challenges.
What learning activities count?
The IOP encourages members to undertake a broad range of CPD activities to enhance their learning. This can include reading journals and articles; learning from colleagues by sharing information and exchanging ideas; coaching and mentoring; volunteering and engaging in professional activities; attending conferences and undertaking online learning.
What are the learning categories?
The IOP is not prescriptive as to what your CPD activities are and the categories they fall under, but we do encourage you to undertake CPD in multiple categories, where possible. The learning categories, as described by the IOP, are professional, self-directed, formal/educational, work-based and informal learning.
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Undertaking and recording your CPD
How to plan, carry out and evaluate your CPD
There are a number of ways in which you can approach planning, undertaking and evaluating your CPD, but we would like to share with you a four-step plan that makes this process simple – Plan, Act, Record, Reflect (PARR):
- Plan – consider your professional role and set your benchmark
- Act – address your learning and development needs
- Record – document your CPD activity
- Reflect – evaluate what you have learned
For an example CPD record, please view our CPD guidance document (PDF, 498KB).
Keeping a CPD record
A CPD record should cover the activity undertaken, its purpose, what was gained, your reflection on its benefits and next steps. If you have multiple roles, specialisations or areas of interest, this should be reflected in your records and the examples provided.
Maintaining your CPD record
You are responsible for maintaining your CPD record. IOP members can use the MY CPD tool in our Career Development Hub to log their CPD activity. For step-by-step guidance on how to access and record your learning in the My CPD tool please view the My CPD Guide (PDF, 1MB).
CPD recording format
You are also free to use your own format to record your CPD. A simple spreadsheet with activities presented in a chronological order would suffice. If you already record your CPD on another platform or template, you may continue to do so – we do not expect you to duplicate your work. Regardless of the format, the following must be included for each activity:
- When did you complete this activity?
- What activity have you completed?
- Why did you choose this activity?
- What did you learn as a result of this activity?
- How did you and other benefits from you completing this activity?
- As a result of this activity, what are your next developmental steps?
- Which learning category does your activity fall under?
Reflective practice
Reflective practice is an active method of considering your thoughts and actions. It is particularly useful for capturing learning from informal activities. It is a way of thinking meaningfully about activities and identifying progress, and turns your learning into CPD.
Reflective practice questions
Below is a selection of reflective practice questions. For a more comprehensive list of questions, please view our CPD guidance document (PDF, 498KB).
- What…
- What is the situation?
- What was I trying to achieve?
- So what…
- What do I know about this?
- What is the importance of this?
- Now what…
- What should I do?
- What will I do differently?