NMBA Quick Guide: 8 FAQs about Continuing Professional Development
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia's primary responsibility is to safeguard the public by establishing registration standards, professional codes, guidelines, and practice standards that define the requirements for nurses and midwives to work professionally and safely in Australia.
According to the NMBA's Registration standard: Continuing professional development, nurses and midwives are required to maintain a minimum number of continuing professional development (CPD) hours directly related to their practice area.
The following are some of the most frequently asked questions about the Registration standard: Continuing professional development
What is Continuing Professional Development?
Continuing professional development or CPD is the process by which professionals retain, improve, and widen their knowledge, experience, and competence and cultivate the personal and professional qualities necessary throughout their careers.
What is the context of practice, and how do you describe it?
The factors that determine a nurse's and/or midwife's profession are the context of practice.
Among them are:
- The type of practice setting
- The location of the practice setting
- The characteristics of patients
- The focus of nursing and/or midwifery activities
- The degree to which practice is autonomous, and
- The available resources, including access to other healthcare professionals.
How many hours do you need to complete the CPD?
Per registration period, the candidate must complete a minimum of 20 hours of CPD.
How long do you need to keep a record of the evidence of your CPD, including self-directed learning?
The NMBA recommends that you preserve proof of CPD for five years, including self-directed learning.
What form should your evidence of CPD, including self-directed learning, take?
The evidence of CPD you may need to provide will be your record of the identified learning need, a learning plan, your participation in the learning activity, and the outcome achieved. For self-directed activities, you'll need references to the articles you've read.
What kind of documents will you need to produce?
If you're selected for an audit, you'll need to complete an audit checklist that describes the documents you'll require. You'll need to show evidence of your CPD completion. Participation in the following activities like seminars, conferences, forums, etc., may be documented in your CPD records.
What if you don’t meet your CPD quota?
If you think you haven't met your CPD requirements, you can request the NMBA for an exemption under exceptional circumstances. If you stated that you had not met your CPD quota, you might be asked to provide more information.
Is everyone going to be audited?
No. The NMBA has the authority to audit a random group of nurses and midwives at any time.
And there you have it, our 8 Frequently Asked Questions about Continuing Professional Development. We hope this blog helped you know more about the CPD in NMBA and made you more confident in pursuing your nursing career in Australia.
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