Continuing Professional Development
The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) define continuing professional development (CPD) as "a range of learning activities through which health and care professionals maintain and develop" to ensure safe practice in an evolving scope of responsibilities. CPD is a requirement of registration to practice as a paramedic and the HCPC maintains five CPD standards to adhere to.
A registrant must:
As the governing body of my aspirant profession, this portfolio endeavours to show that my CPD meets the standards dictated by the HCPC. It includes examples of developmental activity, professional event attendances and reflective practice.
In summary of this section of my portfolio, my clinical practice has developed significantly over recent months. I have added to the foundation of my ambulance basic training by taking opportunities to expand my clinical knowledge and skills. Significantly, my enrolment on the Diploma of Higher Education in Paramedic Practice with Liverpool John Moore's University (LJMU) has not only developed my understanding of a wide number of health care and clinical subjects but also the repertoire of physical skills at my disposal, such as intravenous cannulation and advanced airway management. Upon qualification, future patients will directly benefit from my improved knowledge and access to further medicines and treatment options.
I have furthermore engaged in a number of opportunities that have encouraged consideration of non-clinical professional issues and developed a stronger concept of my role in the wider profession. By volunteering to unique opportunities such as the London 2012 Olympic games pre-planned aid, and more recently the LJMU student paramedic exchange to Toronto, Canada, not only did I access further unique training opportunities but was given the opportunity to consider contemporary practice and professional issues with peers and senior colleagues. As the paramedic profession evolves beyond the pre-hospital response to, treatment of and conveyance of patients and moves further into the realms of autonomous urgent and primary care, a strong professional network is critical to profession-wide self determination and the ability of the paramedic profession to develop robust models of healthcare delivery.
A registrant must:
- maintain a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of their CPD activities;
- demonstrate that their CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current or future practice;
- seek to ensure that their CPD has contributed to the quality of their practice and service delivery;
- seek to ensure that their CPD benefits the service user; and
- upon request , present a written profile (which must be their own work and supported by evidence) explaining how they have met the standards for CPD)
As the governing body of my aspirant profession, this portfolio endeavours to show that my CPD meets the standards dictated by the HCPC. It includes examples of developmental activity, professional event attendances and reflective practice.
In summary of this section of my portfolio, my clinical practice has developed significantly over recent months. I have added to the foundation of my ambulance basic training by taking opportunities to expand my clinical knowledge and skills. Significantly, my enrolment on the Diploma of Higher Education in Paramedic Practice with Liverpool John Moore's University (LJMU) has not only developed my understanding of a wide number of health care and clinical subjects but also the repertoire of physical skills at my disposal, such as intravenous cannulation and advanced airway management. Upon qualification, future patients will directly benefit from my improved knowledge and access to further medicines and treatment options.
I have furthermore engaged in a number of opportunities that have encouraged consideration of non-clinical professional issues and developed a stronger concept of my role in the wider profession. By volunteering to unique opportunities such as the London 2012 Olympic games pre-planned aid, and more recently the LJMU student paramedic exchange to Toronto, Canada, not only did I access further unique training opportunities but was given the opportunity to consider contemporary practice and professional issues with peers and senior colleagues. As the paramedic profession evolves beyond the pre-hospital response to, treatment of and conveyance of patients and moves further into the realms of autonomous urgent and primary care, a strong professional network is critical to profession-wide self determination and the ability of the paramedic profession to develop robust models of healthcare delivery.