Make the most of your CPD
Allied Health Professionals are required to complete a certain amount of Continual Professional Development (CPD) hours per year to help maintain, develop or increase their knowledge and skills set. CPD hours can be completed by taking place in face-to-face learning such as conferences, courses and workshops, online seminars and self-directed learning (reading). It it important to log all your CPD hours as well as reflect back and evaluate what you have learnt and how this may help to improve your treatment of clients. Use our free CPD tracker download to help record your hours
Have you ever attend a fantastic allied health CPD course or watched a great seminar and made lots of notes and ideas of how you can incorporate your new skills into your clinical practice but then when you stepped back into your workplace you just continued to go back to your old way of treating? Don't worry you are not alone. A University lecturer once told me if you do not act upon your actions within 72 hours of attending a seminar you never will, and to be honest I agree with that. So I have put together the below easy to follow steps to help you get the most out of your Unite Health Management CPD courses (don't worry you can use this for other CPD activities too);
- After enrolling onto a course with us you will receive your confirmation email outlining any pre-course reading /preparations and the course schedule. Make sure you actually open and read this email (and not just a quick scan) and complete the recommended activities. We give you this information so that you can begin to think about the topic and be prepared for learning on the course.
- On the course make sure you ask questions, give examples of your own clients, swap partners (you will learn a lot from your peers) and make notes!
- After the course you will receive an email from us with recommended reading, video links, practice-teaching and self-practice ideas. Really try to complete these activities as they will help to jog your memory of what you learnt on the course.
- Practice, practice, practice! We want you to be able to use your new skills immediately and confidently. Practice your new skills yourself or on work colleagues and slowly start incorporating them into your clinical programs.
- Go back and re-read your course manual and notes. You know when you are on a course and the presenter talks about a new treatment technique and your thinking to yourself of how you would use that with your patients and you make a little note 'Jane – incorporate swimming level 2 into program to help with………' well sometimes you forget those little notes so go back and re-read.
- Questions –contact us. If you have a question after a course please contact us, we are here to help you.
- Get social. 'Like' our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram (links below). We try and include useful information on our social media pages so check them out – and feel free post on our pages too. Don't forget to 'like' and tag yourself in your course photos on our Facebook page too.