This section of the website is intended to clarify the Society’s stance with regard to continuing professional development (CPD) and to enable radiographers and other members to identify and access the resources needed to support and develop CPD initiatives.

Previous versions of the Society's Code of Professional Conduct have made reference to radiographers' obligation to update their knowledge and skills. The new version. The Society's 'Statements for Professional Conduct' make the member's obligations clear:

'Radiographers must maintain and strive to improve their professional knowledge and competence'... Every patient is entitled to be cared for by radiographers with relevant and up-to-date skills and expertise. Therefore all radiographers must undertake lifelong learning and will keep a record of their ongoing development activities... The Society and college considers that CPD, lifelong learning, periodic appraisal and revalidation must be compulsory to ensure and maintain competence, as well as enabling radiographers to gain knowledge and competencies outside their scope of practice.'

It is important to note the reference to keeping a record of development activities. It is recognised that not all radiographers will find this an easy task to accomplish in view of long working hours and increasing service pressures. However, radiographers should make every effort to maintain a portfolio of their professional development and learning activities and employers should be urged to recognise the importance of this and to allow time for this to be done.

However, there is evidence to suggest that radiographers fare poorly by comparison with other healthcare professions when it comes to resources to support any form of post-registration learning and development. The Society believes that radiographers are entitled to their fair share of such resources and that this is a fundamental right, not a concession.

CPD is essential to the future of our profession. If we fail to develop, as individuals and collectively, we will fall behind and the survival of our profession will be in jeopardy. This need not come about. The last decade has seen radiographers moving into areas of clinical practice and achieving academic standing which would have once been unimaginable. Role extension is now accepted and commonplace. New Government directives give us the green light to move forward and to assume our rightful place in the forefront of healthcare delivery and to achieve the highest levels of professional status and reward. CPD will enable us to do this. As a professional body, the Society is committed to giving radiographers every assistance is achieving their individual and collective CPD aspirations. As a trade union, the Society will strive to ensure that members receive appropriate recognition and reward for the work they undertake. We will also campaign for improved learning resources for members, including protected study time.

The Health Professions Council has now published its CPD Standards and you should be aware that these have been a condition of registration since July 2006. For more information click here.

The Society does NOT stipulate a minimum number of hours' participation in CPD as mandatory. It was previously suggested that thirty-five hours a year would serve as a rough indication of a minimum level of CPD activity. Current best practice in CPD favours an outcomes-based approach, rather than one that focuses on input. In other words, it is far more useful to match your CPD to what you do in practice, rather than to count up hours, points, credits that purport to measure activities that might not have any particular relevance to your work. CPD Now, the Society and College's new web-based CPD system, takes this approach. It is recognised that input-based systems are easier to manage and comply with in the short-term, but their long-term value is questionable. Outcome-based systems take a little more getting to grips with, but the benefit is that you don't fall into the trap of undertaking valueless CPD simply because you have to achieve a set number of hours, points or credits. Follow the link 'Launch CPD Now' from the blue box towards the top right hand corner of this page to access your personal CPD Now portfolio.

The publication of the document 'A Strategy for Continuing Professional Development' in 2003 set out the Society's plans to introduce a system for the accreditation of individual members' CPD. This system - 'CPD Now' - is available to all members at no extra cost and can be accessed from the members' homepage of this website. A new guidance document 'CPD - Professional and Regulatory Requirements' - will be published in the autumn of 2007.

And please bear in mind, any of the sections from this website can produce useful material for discussion groups, presentations to colleagues, themes for guest speakers or individual and group learning - all of which are excellent CPD for everyone involved!

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