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Understanding the HCPC CPD audit process
As the HCPC audit starts, we revisit what can count as CPD, how best to record it, how the process works and what registrants need to know.
What counts as CPD?
CPD involves identifying and undertaking opportunities to refresh existing knowledge, develop skills or learn something new. It is about keeping up to date with developments within podiatry and across the wider healthcare landscape.
Activities can range from attending conferences or training courses to learning new aspects of your role. Online webinars, shadowing a colleague, relevant reading, reflective practice, sharing best practice with peers or listening to professional podcasts may all contribute.
CPD encompasses activities that support ongoing improvement within your work environment, alongside maintaining evidence of developing skills, knowledge and experience.
What is a CPD audit?
The HCPC requires all health and care professionals on its register to undertake regular CPD as part of maintaining safe and effective practice.
A CPD audit is a request to provide a record of the CPD undertaken over the previous two years to demonstrate that the standards have been met.
At registration renewal, professionals confirm that they meet HCPC standards, including CPD requirements. In addition, the HCPC randomly selects a sample of registrants for audit and requests submission of a CPD profile.
Only those who have been registered for two years or more are eligible for audit. Recent graduates and those newly returning to the register will not be selected immediately.
If selected, registrants have three months to submit their profile and receive a reminder one month before the deadline.
Embedding CPD recording into routine professional practice can make the audit process straightforward. When records are maintained regularly, the prospect of audit becomes a structured presentation of ongoing professional development rather than an unexpected burden.
Recording CPD
Planning CPD and maintaining an ongoing clear record of CPD activities can help to manage and simplify the audit process.
Many registrants create a personal development plan to guide their learning over a defined period. CPD activities can then be aligned with that plan and reviewed regularly.
A CPD log should record planned and completed activities, including dates, descriptions and any supporting evidence. It should also reflect how each activity contributes to professional development, current or future practice and patient benefit.
Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director of Education, Registration and Regulatory Standards at the HCPC, Andy Smith, explains:
“Maintaining our development isn’t optional – it’s essential. The public rightly expects us to operate at the highest standards and that means continuously learning, adapting and challenging ourselves to grow.
“Finding the time can be difficult in a busy and high-pressure healthcare environment, but it’s an investment we cannot afford to neglect. CPD takes many forms and each one strengthens our capability and confidence. By undertaking CPD, we add to our knowledge and professional skills and we help to ensure we always provide the best care to patients”
Resources
The CPD audit process | The HCPC
Standards of continuing professional development | The HCPC
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