CPD for Podiatrists
All registered and practicing podiatrists are required to complete 20 hours of CPD annually, and hold a current CPR certificate to meet the requirements of the Podiatry Board of Australia, in accordance with the Health Practitioner Regulation National Law Act.
CPD Cycle
The CPD cycle runs for 12-months. Podiatrists receive an application for renewal annually and asked to declare whether they have complied with the CPD requirements.
CPD Requirements
CPD requirements depend on whether you are a podiatrist or a podiatric surgeon, and whether you have an endorsement for schedules medicines. All podiatrists and podiatric surgeons must:
Complete a minimum of 20 hours CPD per-year which must include a range of activities from the categories.
Include a minimum of 5 hours in an interactive setting with other practitioners, such as face-to-face education.
Focus activities to areas that are relevant to your professional practice with clear learning aims.
20 CPD hours can be achieved by a mixture of activities from the following categories:
Professional development (maximum 10 hours).
Further education (maximum 10 hours).
Quality improvement activities (maximum 10 hours).
Self-directed learning (maximum of 10 hours).
Community service (maximum 5 hours).
CPD Activities must be relevant to a podiatrists work, aim to benefit patients, clients, the team and/or students and improve the quality of their work.
If you are a podiatrist, you must also complete training that includes cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), management of anaphylaxis and use of an automated external defibrillator.
If you are endorsed for schedules medicines, you must complete an extra 10 hours of CPD per year related to the endorsement.
If you are a podiatric surgeon, you must complete an additional 20 hours of CPD per year related to this practice, and have trained in advanced life support.
Podiatrists are not required to undertake CPD from all categories. An activity can only be applied to one category and not counted more than once. A limit of hours per category has been set to ensure mixtures of learning experiences. Participation in professional development activities can be counted towards the CPD requirements for podiatry registration, given activities are within categories detailed in the guidelines.
CPD Activities- the five categories:
1. Professional development (maximum 10 hours). Examples include:
Publish an articled in peer reviewed journal.
Hold or attend an in-service lecture to health sector peers.
Case discussion with health sector peers.
2. Further education (maximum 10 hours). Examples include:
Attend a health related lecture by health professional.
Enrolment in postgraduate study and/or higher education related to podiatric practice.
Attend other courses relating to podiatric practice.
Australasian College of Podiatric Surgeons (ACPS) Fellowship modules.
Attend an international, national and State or Territory conference related to podiatry.
Complete online relevant education.
Complete a journal-based education questionnaire.
3. Quality improvement activities (maximum 10 hours). Examples include:
Activities to improve quality or reduce risk in practice involving evaluation and report.
Implementation of an evidence-based specific practice activity. This includes a review of the activity and documentation of the nature of the activity.
Clinical audit processes and results.
4. Self-directed learning (maximum 10 hours). Examples include:
Review of research publication/journal article/editorial/text. Please note that evidence of this is required.
Health-related case study. Documentation is required.
5. Community service (maximum 5 hours). Examples include:
Undergraduate/postgraduate supervision or mentoring (podiatry and other health professionals).
Recipient of supervision or mentoring.
Contribution to podiatry profession, e.g. health promotion or volunteer service.
Additional CPD requirements are required for:
Podiatrists with endorsement for scheduled medicines. Podiatrists are required to complete an additional 10 hours of CPD per year related to the use of scheduled medicines in podiatry practice.
Podiatrists with specialist registration as podiatric surgeon. Podiatrists are required to complete an additional 10 hours of CPD per year related to the use of scheduled medicines in podiatry practice. An additional 20 CPD hours per year related to the practice of podiatric surgery is also required. An advanced life support course also needs to be completed and the relevant certificate obtained.
Please contact the Board for more details surrounding additional CPD requirements.
CPD Documentation
Podiatrists are required to keep written documentation of CPD activities for a minimum of 5 years, to be available for an audit by the Board. A CPD portfolio should include the following three elements:
1. Plan of learning objectives and activities you will do to achieve these goals.
2. Evidence of CPD activities undertaken, such as certificates of attainment/attendance.
3. Notes from CPD activities, such as literature review, case study or journal articles.
For more information about these CPD guidelines click here.
Date of Issue: 1st July 2010
Last reviewed: 2nd April 2020
These guidelines will be reviewed every 3-4 years.