The ABC of CPD at MIPS

Navigate the evolving medical landscape: Master the essentials of CPD for continuous professional growth.

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Medicine is forever changing, with new medicines and treatments and new ways of delivering healthcare.

Therefore, a medical career requires a commitment to life-long learning. This includes keeping abreast of new developments and reflecting on past outcomes and practices.

Continuing professional development (CPD) enables practitioners to focus on structured, targeted, and achievable quality and safety improvements that can positively impact patient outcomes and their own longer-term career goals. It allows doctors to identify what they do well and identify areas of development, encouraging new ideas, knowledge, skills, and behaviours. There is growing evidence that CPD improves practitioner confidence, competence, and safety.

The requirement to complete CPD as a condition of registration has been part of the framework for the regulation of doctors in Australia and overseas for several decades now. Another condition of registration for Australian doctors is the requirement to have appropriate professional indemnity insurance arrangements in place. MIPS is a member-first medical defence organisation that not only provides professional indemnity insurance for its members, but also offers CPD-accredited risk education activities designed to support CPD requirements and enhance its members’ preparedness for unexpected events. On 1 January 2023, the Medical Board of Australia (“the Board”) introduced significant changes to the requirements for continuing professional development (CPD). These are set out in the Board’s new CPD Registration Standard (“the Standard”) and in its FAQs. The Standard was created under Section 38(1)(c) of the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act 2009 (Qld)

The new Standard requires all registered medical practitioners (except students, interns, non-practising doctors, and those granted exemption by the Board) to comply with the Standard. Practitioners will be required to confirm annually that they have complied with these requirements when renewing their Ahpra registration.   

To comply with the Standard, practitioners must:

• Join an accredited CPD Home by 2024; and
• Meet the CPD requirements of an accredited CPD home; and
• Develop a professional development plan; and
• Complete at least 50 hours per year of CPD activities that comprise:
  
  • At least 25 hours of reviewing performance and measuring outcomes
  • 12.5 hours of traditional learning or education activities
  • 12.5 hours of free choice activities from the above three categories
• Retain records of your attendance and completion of CPD activities for three years.

A CPD Home is an organisation accredited by the Board to provide approved CPD programs. For most specialists or specialist trainees, the CPD Home will be their specialist medical college. For more information and a list of current CPD Homes, visit: medicalboard.gov.au

Although MIPS is not currently a CPD Home, it has responded to the Board’s changes to ensure that its members meet the new CPD requirements by:

• Expanding the scope of their educational activities so that participants can complete CPD activities across all required domains of reviewing performance, measuring outcomes and educational activities.
• Offering up to three hours of CPD for an individual education activity. The total CPD hours offered may vary depending on the structure and format of the program, the learning outcomes, scope of content and any approved College accreditation requirements.
• Retaining records of attendance and completion of CPD activities for at least three years, as required under the Standard.
• Providing its members with evidence of completion of CPD activities by issuing a Certificate of Completion within 14 days.

To increase the quality, impact, effectiveness, and educational choice of CPD offerings for its members, MIPS works closely with college providers including RACGP, ACRRM, RACS, ACEM and RACP to seek accreditation for its webinar events. MIPS believes that lifelong learning needs to be useful, relevant and evidence-informed for participants. Its Risk Education offerings are constantly being refined to reflect contemporary adult education principles, and to keep up with emerging medico-legal risks. MIPS is committed to ensuring that its CPD activities cater to the diverse needs of its members.

To maximise the value of CPD offerings, it is important for practitioners to reflect on areas of interest or knowledge gaps. To avoid a mad scramble before the end of the CPD year, it is also important to plan ahead and keep an eye out for upcoming member webinar events at mips.com.au/education. If practitioners do miss a CPD activity, convenient 24/7 On Demand Education is also available.

Practise with confidence. We’ve got you covered.
MAKE IT MIPS for medical indemnity insurance.
mips.com.au.