Once upon a time in the land of professional health care practitioners lived a very mean and scrupulous baron, who, every so often, would challenge the minions to demonstrate that they were capable and informed professionals. 

Those who were able to demonstrate that they had the necessary competencies were given magic beans to swop at market, however, those that could not demonstrate and be accountable for their own practice were sent to the dungeon to play with the dragon. 

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is not a fairy tale; it is a very real and necessary part of your job. It is not a management tool to hit key performance indicators or a governing body quirk to cause unnecessary suffering. In fact it exists to assist professionals in becoming skilled and clued up employees. 

CPD is an emerging field in pre-hospital care; succinctly described by the Health Professions Council (HPC, 2006) as ‘A range of learning activities through which health professionals maintain and develop throughout their career to ensure that they retain their capacity to practice safely, effectively and legally within their evolving scope of practice.’ (P.6) 

Perhaps an easier way to conceptualise CPD is to think about a brick house, each building block representing a learning experience, which when combined with other learning experiences creates a whole. 

The secret to CPD is the ability to recognise and demonstrate how each of these blocks of knowledge creates a safe and effective professional, then to stand back and evaluate and reflect upon your work.

1) Step one of successful CPD is…RECOGNITION,

2) Step two of successful CPD

is RECORDING,

3) Step three of successful CPD

is REACTION,

4) Step four of successful CPD

is REFLECTION,

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Andrew Ormerod's Bio: Andrew is the founding member of CPDme, the product of a professional practice project in 2008, whilst Andrew was studying towards his MSc at Bolton University. 

Prior to studying his MSc, Andrew graduated with a BSc HONS in Paramedic Practice from the the University of Central Lancashire. 

Andrew is very passionate about simplifying and demystifying the myths around continuing professional development and often is invited to speak at conferences and health and social care events across the UK. 

Andrew is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council as a Paramedic and works in the NHS for a large ambulance trust. He started out his healthcare career as a volunteer Community First Responder.