Revised CPD guidelines published today

24 Oct 2019

The Chinese Medicine Board of Australia (the Board), along with four other National Boards, has today published an advance copy of its revised continuing professional development guidelines (CPD guidelines).

The revised CPD guidelines provide additional information for Chinese medicine practitioners about how to meet the revised CPD registration standard (CPD standard). The Board published an advance copy of the CPD standard on 31 July 2019.

The revised CPD standard and guidelines will apply to all registered Chinese medicine practitioners in Australia, except those with student or non-practising registration, from 1 December 2019.

Chinese medicine practitioners will need to declare that they have met the revised CPD standard when they renew their registration in 2020. Practitioners must declare they meet the current CPD standard when they renew their registration this year.

The Board encourages practitioners to read the revised CPD registration standard and guidelines to make sure that they are familiar with the impending updated requirements.

Some of the requirements in the new standard have changed. The ways in which Chinese medicine practitioners can meet the standard will be more flexible. Practitioners will no longer need to undertake minimum hours of formal CPD activities. Instead, practitioners will need to develop learning goals, plan their CPD activities to meet those goals and reflect on how they will improve their practice based on what they have learned.

The revised standard requires 20 hours of CPD activities per year that:

• seek to improve patient outcomes and experiences
• draw on best available evidence and accepted knowledge that is supported by research where possible
• contribute to improving competence and staying up to date
• build on existing knowledge
• include five hours of interactive CPD activities, and
• include four hours of CPD related to professional issues.

Chinese medicine practitioners can be registered in one or more of three divisions. The Board therefore requires CPD relevant to each of the divisions in which practitioners are registered.

The Board may grant a full or partial exemption from the requirements where there are exceptional circumstances. The Board has introduced a requirement for Chinese medicine practitioners to keep a portfolio that records their learning goals, the CPD activities they undertake and their reflection on the effect that the CPD has had on their practice.

The existing requirement for practitioners with an approved scheduled medicine endorsement has been removed as endorsement is not currently available. Establishing this will need to be subject to wide-ranging consultation on a range of aspects including CPD requirements.

The Board is currently developing additional guidance material to help practitioners understand and meet the revised CPD standard. Additional material including updated FAQ about CPD and a template CPD portfolio will be published on the Board’s website in the coming months.

National Boards published a consultation report providing a summary of the consultation on the revised CPD registration standards on 31 July 2019. The report and additional information are published on the AHPRA website.

For further information

• Visit the Board’s website.
• Lodge an online enquiry form.
• For registration enquiries: 1300 419 495 (within Australia) +61 3 9275 9009 (overseas callers).
• For media enquiries: (03) 8708 9200.