Continuing Professional Development

Ethical practice of the health professions requires consistent and ongoing commitment from all concerned to lifelong learning to update and develop the knowledge, skills and ethical attitudes that underpin competent practice. This perspective protects the public interest and promotes the health of all members of the South African society. Guided by the principle of beneficence, health care professionals aspire to standards of excellence in health care provision and delivery. The Health Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974) (as amended) endorses Continuing Professional Development (CPD) as the means for maintaining and updating professional competence, to ensure that the public interest will always be promoted and protected, as well as ensuring the best possible service to the community. CPD learning activities should address the emerging health needs and be relevant to the health priorities of the country. In this spirit of dedication to best practice and a desire to act and serve wisely and well, Guidelines for Service Providers of continuing professional development education activities were developed CPD providers are encouraged to offer learning activities in line with adult education principles and greater learner involvement, with the goal of not only acquiring new or updating knowledge, but also of improving competence and ultimately the performance of the health care professional with an end benefit to the patient/client. The purpose of this document is to set out and describe the qualification criteria, roles, responsibilities and the application process for Service Providers.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

An Accreditor is a group or an institution that is appointed by a Professional Board, once it has met the criteria set out by the HPCSA CPD Committee. The role of the Accreditor is to review and approve applications for the provision of CPD activities (within its profession's ambit) by organizations and individuals without accredited service provider status; to monitor these activities; and to revise continuing education units (CEUs) allocated where the provider failed to comply with the rules and regulations of the CPD guidelines. Professional Boards may delegate their responsibility for accrediting service providers to Accreditors with the mutual agreement of the Accreditor. The criteria and processes to be followed as well as the procedures for record keeping are contained in the Criteria and Guidelines for Accreditors document.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA.

Accredited Service Providers are the profession specific higher education institutions and departments, professional associations or formally constituted professional interest groups who meet the specified criteria and have been accredited by the Board/ or its designated Accreditor to present learning activities for Continuing Professional Development.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA.

An Attendance register is the record of attendees at the learning activity reflecting the names, the HPCSA registration numbers of those present and their signatures on completion of the activity. This register must be held by the presenting organisation or institution for three years following the activity; the original register may be audited in a compliance check.

Heath professionals that do not sign the attendance register as attendance of the event may not be issued with an Attendance Certificate that serves as supporting evidence of CEU Points, by the presenting organisation. Attendance Certificates are required to be handed in with your CPD Activity Record as per the requirements of the HPCSA during a Compliance Check.

All health professionals shall ensure that they are in possession of a certificate of attendance for every activity they have attended. They shall keep these for at least two years so that their certificates will be available if required for a random compliance check.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA.

Compliance checks on a randomly selected sample of health professionals from every register are undertaken by the CPD Section of the HPCSA every two months. The health professionals should submit the information requested to that Department within 21 days on receipt of notification of being selected.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA.

Continuing Education Units (CEUs) indicate the value attached to a Learning Activity for Continuing Professional Development.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA.

Continuing Professional Development In terms of Section 26 of the Health Professions Act, 1974 (Act No. 56 of 1974) the HPCSA may from time to time make rules which prescribe -

1. conditions relating to continuing education and training to be undergone by persons registered in terms of this Act in order to retain such registration;
2. the nature and extent of continuing education and training to be undergone by persons registered in terms of this Act; and
3. the criteria for recognition by the HPCSA of continuing education and training courses and education institutions offering such courses.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA.

Yes - Deferment is formal permission sought by the health professional and granted by the HPCSA CPD Committee to suspend/postpone CPD requirements for a period of time. There are conditions for re-entry into practice.

Health professionals may apply for deferment of CPD and the HPCSA CPD Committee will review such applications individually on an ad hoc basis. The application should be strongly motivated with appropriate evidence/documentation. Deferment may be granted in the case of:

1. a health professional who is outside South Africa for a period of time exceeding 12 months and is not practising his/her profession;
2. a health professional who is outside of South Africa and practising in a country were there is no access to CPD activities;
3. a health professional who is registered for an additional qualification but is of the view that s/he will not meet the outcome within two years and thus will not be able to claim CEUs for such qualification.

Deferment may be granted for a maximum period of three years. Deferment will not be granted for a period of less than 12 months (in view of the fact that a professional may collect CEUs in a following year). Any health professional mentioned in the above paragraphs wishing to re-enter the system after deferment will be subject to the following conditions:

1. If deferment was granted for more than 12 months but less than two years, proof of full employment in the profession during that time should be submitted and the health professional will, on review by the HPCSA CPD Committee, be allowed to recommence the CPD year immediately.
2. If deferment was granted for more than two years but less than three years, the health professional must submit proof of his/her employment during that time and the health professional will, on the recommendation of the HPCSA CPD Committee, be required to complete a period of supervised practice as determined by the Professional Board in his/her area of practice, and will recommence the CPD year immediately.
3. If deferment was granted for longer than 12 months and the health professional did not practice his/her profession during the deferment period, he/she will be required to complete a period of supervised practice as determined by the Professional Board in his/her area of practice.
4. If deferment was granted because the health professional was engaged in formal education and training for an additional qualification, CEUs will not be allocated for obtaining the said additional qualification. Proof of the additional qualification must be supplied to the CPD Section and the health professional will recommence the CPD year immediately.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA.

HPCSA Individual CPD Activity Record (Form CPD IAR 1) is the document held by individual health professionals as a record of every learning activity attended or completed. It should be accompanied by the Attendance Certificates for each event or series of events. For level 3 qualifications, a certified copy of the qualification is required. The record must be regularly updated and kept current. In the event that a health professional's name is drawn in the Compliance Check, the Individual CPD Activity Record (Form CPD IAR 1) for the previous two years, together with the attendance certificates and copies of qualifications that may have been obtained during this period, must be sent to the CPD Section of Council within 21 days on receipt of notification requiring such information.

Every health professional shall maintain a record of their own learning activities and document these on an official HPCSA Individual CPD Activity Record (Form CPD 1 IAR) which includes the following:

• The name and registration number of the health professional;
• The name and number of the Accredited Service Provider or individual activity accreditation number;
• The topic of the activity (ethics, human rights and medical law must be specified separately);
• The level of the activity;
• The number of CEUs; and
• The attendance/completion date.

This record is the only data required of individual health professionals. It should be duly completed so that it accurately reflects a health professional's CPD activities for the previous 24 months. This is the record that needs to be submitted should the health professional be selected in the randomly selected audits. An individual drawn in the audit may submit the data and copies of CPD certificates in one of the following three ways:

• A paper copy of the Excel spreadsheet record of his/her Individual CPD Activity Record (submitted by post to the CPD Section at HPCSA at P O Box 205, PRETORIA, 0001);
• Electronic copy of the Excel spreadsheet record of his/her Individual CPD Activity Record (Form CPD 1 IAR) (submitted electronically to the CPD Section at HPCSA at cpd@hpcsa.co.za);
• An electronic copy of the Excel spreadsheet that has been captured and held by arrangement between the health professional and a relevant individual or business (submitted electronically to the CPD Section at HPCSA at cpd@hpcsa.co.za).

Health professionals who are non-compliant or who do not submit their CPD records will automatically be included in the next audit.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA.

Learning activity/ies are the CPD activities for which Continuing Education Units are obtained. There are three levels of activities: those with non-measurable outcomes; those with measurable outcomes that do not necessarily constitute a full year of earned CEUs (including education, training, research and publications; and those associated with formally structured learning programmes.

There are three levels of activities, those with non-measurable outcomes, those with outcomes that do not necessarily constitute a full year of earned CEUs, and those associated with formally structured learning programmes.

A health professional may obtain CEUs at any level depending on personal circumstances and individual learning needs.

Level 1

These are activities that do not have a clearly measurable outcome and are presented as a once off non-continuous basis. CEUs are allocated according to time, 1 CEU per hour to a maximum of 8 CEUs per day. Presenters/co-presenters can only claim once for CEUs if the same presentation is given more than once. These activities include:

(a) Breakfast meetings or presentations;

(b) Formally arranged hospital or inter-departmental meetings or updates;

(c) Case study discussions;

(d) Formally organised special purpose teaching/learning ward rounds (not including routine service ward rounds);

(e) Formally organised special purpose lectures that are not part of a business meeting;

(f) Mentoring/supervision and activities that are specific to certain professions;

(g) Conferences, symposia, refresher courses, short courses without a measurable outcome, international conferences (must be approved by a South African Accreditor if not accredited/ recognised for CEU equivalent in the country where it was held).

(h) Interest groups meeting less than six times per year.

Presenters of such activities can be allocated double CEUs, eg. if attendee receives one CEU, presenters can get two CEUs excluding presenters at large group activities who would be allocated CEUs from level 2.

Level 2

This level includes activities that have an outcome but do not constitute a full year of earned CEUs. It includes education, training, research and publications. (Teaching and examination of undergraduate and postgraduate students will not be accredited if these activities fall within a registered health professional's job description). CEUs

	CPD Activity	CEU's
a	Principal author of a peer reviewed publication or chapter in a book	15
b	Co-author/editor of a peer reviewed publication or chapter in a book	5
c	Review of an article/chapter in a book/journal	3
d	Principal presenter/author of a paper/poster at a congress/symposium/refresher course.	10
e	Co-presenters/co-authors of a paper/poster at a congress/symposium/course/refresher course	5
f	Presenters of accredited short courses	10
g	Co-presenters of accredited short courses	5
h	Interactive skills workshop with an evaluation of the outcome	5
i	All learning material (which could include DVD, CD, internet or email activities) with MCQs for evaluation with a pass rate of 70%.	3 per questionnaire
j	Guest/occasional lecturer at an accredited institution	3 per lecture
k	Health personnel who supervise undergraduates/interns/postgraduates in clinical/technical training in collaboration with an accredited training institution on a regular basis during the academic year (if not in the job description)	2 per student (max 16 CEUs per calendar year)
l	External examiner of Masters and Doctoral thesis	5 per thesis
m	Workshops, lectures, seminars on ethics (not including general presentations with a so-called component on ethics)	2 per hour
n	Single modules of Masters degrees with part-time enrolment for study for non-degree purposes	5 on completion of module
o	Professional Interest Groups (this could include Journal Clubs if compliant with the criteria) that are formally constituted and present a regularly recurring programme that extends for one year with a minimum of 6 meetings per year. These activities should be ongoing or have a measurable outcome that is assessed according to criteria determined by the group, which may be interdisciplinary.	3 per meeting

Level 3

This level comprises structured learning, i.e. a formal programme that is planned and offered by an accredited training institution, is evaluated by an accredited assessor and has a measurable outcome. Successful completion of an activity at this level will earn 30 CEUs. Activities include:

(a) Postgraduate degrees and diplomas that are recognised as additional qualifications by the relevant Professional Board. At the end of each year of study (not exceeding the normal duration of the degree), 30 CEUs may be claimed upon submitting an academic report on progress. An additional 30 CEUs may be claimed on successful completion of the qualification;

(b) Short courses with a minimum of 25 hours with additional clinical hands-on training, plus a formal assessment of the outcome.

Other Activities

(c) Learning portfolios;

(d) Practice audit.

Guidelines for the latter two activities are available on the HPCSA website. Health professionals will need to submit documentation/portfolios to an Accreditor to obtain the 30 CEUs for these activities.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA.

The following activities do not qualify for CEUs:

• time spent in planning, organising or facilitating any activity;
• published congress proceedings;
• non-referenced letters to the Editor of accredited journals;
• daily ward rounds;
• written assignments;
• compilation of student training manuals for internal use;
• staff and/or administrative meetings;
• tours and/or viewing of exhibits and technological demonstrations;
• membership of professional bodies, Professional Boards or associations;
• holding a portfolio on the professional body's executive or council structure; and
• presentations and publications to the public.

Meetings arranged by pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers or importers of products and technical devices (including assistive device technology) or their representatives purely for the purpose of marketing and/or promoting their products are not eligible for accreditation.

Activities for the purpose of training in the use of company products or technological devices may be presented by arrangement with an Accreditor or Accredited Service Provider.

The CPD Section will investigate the reasons for non-compliance whereafter the names of bona fide non-compliant health professionals will be submitted to the Professional Boards for noting, and to the HPCSA CPD Committee for action in consultation with the relevant Professional Board. The following actions may be taken:

• A letter will be sent to the non-compliant health professional requesting a reason for the non-compliance. A health professional will be required to furnish the CPD Section with a letter of explanation within two weeks of receipt of the letter of enquiry from the CPD Section.
• Should the explanation be acceptable, the health professional will be given six months to comply with the CPD requirements. Evidence of such compliance must be received by the CPD Section within two weeks of the end of the six month period.
• Should the health professional not comply with the requirement, his/her name will be forwarded without delay to the Committee of Preliminary Enquiry. The Committee of Preliminary Enquiry may decide on the basis of evidence to grant a final additional 6 month period to comply with the CPD requirements.

Should the health professional still not comply with the CPD requirements within the second six month period, one of the following actions may be taken:

• Registration in a category that will provide for supervision as considered appropriate by the relevant Professional Board;
• A remedial programme of continuing education and training as specified by the Professional Board;
• An examination as determined by the Professional Board;
• Suspension from practice for a period of time as determined by the Professional Board; or
• Any other action as recommended by the Professional Board.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA

No - Health professionals in internship and community service are not required to comply with CPD requirements during the internship and community service years but are encouraged to attend and may accrue CEUs which will be to their credit for the full 24 months from date of accrual

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA

Yes - A health professional must apply in writing to the HPCSA before the last day of March for voluntary removal of his/her name from the register in terms of Section 19(1) (c) of the Act.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA

Yes

1. If a health professional's name was erased from the register in terms of Sections 19(1)(b), (c) or (d) and the health professional was practising his/her profession, the following has to be submitted:

• Application for restoration (Form 18 - available on HPCSA website)
• Applicable restoration fee (ONLY annual fee if health professional's name was erased in terms of Section 19(1)(c)
• Recent (not older than 3 months) Certificate of Good Status from the country where he/she has practised
• Proof of CPD activities attended

If a health professional's name was erased from the register for a period less than 2 years and the health professional was NOT practising his/her profession, the following has to be submitted:

• Application for restoration (Form 18)
• Applicable restoration fee (ONLY annual fee if health professional's name was erased in terms of Section 19(1)(c)

3. If a health professional's name was erased from the register in terms of Sections 19(1)(b), (c) or (d) for a period exceeding TWO years and the health professional was NOT practising his/her profession please refer to Annexure B for resolutions as per the respective Professional Boards.

- CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS APPROVED: APRIL 2009, HPCSA

Criteria and Guidelines for Service Providers details the criteria for and requirements of Service Providers; the nature of the learning activities and the CEUs at each level of the hierarchy; the process to be followed to publicise, present and record the activities.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

Yes - Attendance register is the record of attendees at the learning activity reflecting the names, the HPCSA registration numbers of those present and their signatures on completion of the activity. This register must be held by the presenting organisation or institution for three years following the activity; the original register may be audited in a compliance check.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

Ethics, Human Rights and Medical Law is an understanding of the bioethical principles that determine how health professionals perform research and interact with patients/clients and society and is also described in Chapter I and II of the Constitution. Health care is a constantly advancing field and with these advances conflicts often arise within the arenas of politics, law, religion, philosophy and economics. An understanding of bioethics helps us to recognise, admit and sometimes resolve these conflicts

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

Can activities be presented to any health professional accredited with the HPCSA... and may I award CEU points for training based purely on the fact that the event was attended?

No - Recognition of CEUs refers to the fact that if a CPD activity has been accredited by an Accreditor for a specific Professional Board, all health care professionals may attend that activity if it is relevant to their specific scope of practice. Health care professionals will however not need to apply for that activity to be re-accredited by their own Professional Board in order to claim the CEUs accrued for attending that activity.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

Service Providers are individuals/institutions/organisations/societies who are required to submit each of their learning activities to an accreditor for review and accreditation prior to presenting the CPD activity.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

There are two broad categories of service providers viz. (1) Accredited Service Providers and (2) Service Providers. Both groups of Service providers offer CPD learning activities to health care professionals. While there are different criteria and application processes for each, there are similar roles and responsibilities.

Accredited Service Providers are

Service Providers are

Any one of the following: Tertiary training institutions Professional associations Formally constituted professional interest groups that have a professional identity and are aligned with a training institution, a professional association or an international institution.

Any one of the following: Organisations and associations as under accredited service provides, but who choose not to apply for accredited provider status Individuals Organizations/Institutions/Societies such as: public and private hospitals; private non-profit groups; commercial enterprises or companies that support health care professionals through products or services; schools; non-government organisations

Some of the essential differences between the two categories relate to:

1. Accreditation of CPD learning activities

Accredited Service Providers	Service Providers
Accredited by the Board or its designated Accreditor to present an annual programme of CPD learning activities.	Required to submit each learning activity to an accreditor (appointed by the relevant Professional Board) for review and accreditation prior to presenting the CPD activity

2. Accreditation period

Accredited Service Providers	Service Providers
Accredited Service Provider status is valid for one year	Each activity is valid for the period indicated by the Accreditor

3. Level of CPD activity offered

Accredited Service Providers	Service Providers
May offer CPD activities at any one of the three levels as described in the HPCSA CPD Document.	May offer CPD activities at Levels 1 and/or 2 as described in the HPCSA CPD Document

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

Roles and responsibilities Before the CPD learning activity:

Prior to offering an activity, an Accredited Service Provider/ Service Provider shall compile the following information/documents for each CPD activity that will be presented

• Name and number of the accredited Service Provider that will present the activity;
• The topic of the activity;
• The level of the activity;
• The number of CEUs that have been allocated for the activity;
• The dates (commencement and completion) of the activity;
• The protocol for attendees to formally evaluate the learning from the CPD event and the potential influence on their performance. Evaluation should focus beyond the aesthetics, comfort, convenience or ambience of the venue, with more emphasis on improving quality of care and patient outcomes.
• A template of the attendance certificate to be issued to attendees on completion of the activity
• An attendance record that reflects the names and HPCSA registration numbers of all of the attendees (from commencement to completion of the activity);
• Where relevant, the programme of the activity/application for mentoring and supervision (for quality control purposes by a Professional Board).

Accredited Service Providers and Service Providers are required to publicise the proposed activity together with its CEUs.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

• The activity should take place as advertised.

  Attendees shall be provided with the opportunity to formally evaluate the learning from the CPD event and the potential influence on their performance. Please see above regarding requirement/nature of evaluation.

• The Accredited Service Provider/Service Provider shall issue an attendance certificate to all health care professionals who attended the CPD activity /or on completion of a series of events. If these are not available on the day/on completion of the event the certificate/s should be sent to attendees within one month.

• The attendance certificate shall contain the following information:

  • The accreditation and activity number (a board specific identification) (eg. MDB001/12/09/2008);
  • The topic of the activity (ethics, human rights and medical law must be specified separately);
  • The level of the activity;
  • The number of CEUs for that activity;
  • The attendance/completion date; and
  • The name and HPCSA registration number of the attendee.
• The Accredited Service Provider/Service Provider shall keep a record that reflects attendance at the entire event / completion of activity and should retain these for a period of three years after the activity as these may be required in a compliance audit.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

The Accredited Service Provider/Service Provider shall develop and maintain a record keeping system such that all the CPD records will be held for a period of three years after the activity has been presented/ completed.

• Accredited Service Providers shall submit, on a monthly basis, a list of approved CPD activities to the CPD Department at the HPCSA.

• Accredited Service Providers shall submit annually, to the Professional Board or its designated Accreditor, the following information with regard to the CPD activities presented in the previous year.

  • A list of all activities presented/completed;
  • An indication of ethics activities presented;
  • An indication of the potential for the learning activity to enhance professional performance.

Extension of accredited provider status will not be considered in the absence of this report.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

Accredited Service Providers and Service Providers must complete an application form, and submit the required documentation and fees when requesting accreditation. The application process is described and compared where necessary to facilitate clarity:

Yes - The following guidelines are for Accredited Service Providers who will gather and review the required documentary evidence and allocate CEUs for the CPD learning activities that they will offer.

Note: Service providers must apply to a profession specific Board designated Accreditor who will review the proposed activity and allocate CEUs.

There are three levels of activities, those with non-measurable outcomes, those with measurable outcomes that do not necessarily constitute a full year of earned CEUs and those associated with formally structured learning programmes.

Level 1

These are activities that do not have a clearly measurable outcome and are presented as a once off non-continuous basis. CEUs are allocated according to time, 1 CEU per hour to a maximum of 8 CEUs per day. Presenters/co-presenters can only claim once for CEUs if the same learning activity is presented more than once. These activities include:

(a) Breakfast meetings or presentations;

(b) Formally arranged hospital or inter-departmental meetings or updates;

(c) Case study discussions;

(d) Formally organised special purpose teaching/learning ward rounds (not including routine service ward rounds);

(e) Formally organised special purpose lectures that are not part of a business meeting;

(f) Mentoring/supervision and activities that are specific to certain professions;

(g) Conferences, symposia, refresher courses, short courses without a measurable outcome, international conferences (must be approved by a South African Accreditor if not accredited/ recognised for CEU equivalent in the country where it was held).

(h) Interest groups meeting less than six times per year.

Presenters of such activities can be allocated double CEUs, eg. if attendee receives one CEU, presenters can get two CEUs excluding presenters at large group activities who would be allocated CEUs from level 2.

Level 2

This level includes activities that have an outcome but do not constitute a full year of earned CEUs. It includes education, training, research and publications. (Teaching and examination of undergraduate and postgraduate students will not be accredited if these activities fall within a registered health care professional's job description).

It also included CEUs for Ethics, Human Rights and Medical Law. Accredited Service providers should note the following when accrediting CEUs for Ethics, Human Rights and Medical Law: The allocation of specific CEU's to ethics, human rights and medical law is an acknowledgement of how important these issues are to our practice. Practitioners are further encouraged to obtain these units with the allocation of double units as compared to CPD in other fields. It is important however that CPD activities on these topics focus on issues of patient care.

Ethics talks, for instance, can cover a wide range of topics but accreditation is generally awarded to talks concerning the principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and human dignity.

Medical law activities should focus on the responsibilities of professionals and the rights of patients. For further guidance the HPCSA offers a range of guidelines on these topics and they are available on the website at -www.hpcsa.co.za

	CPD Activity	CEU's
a	Principal author of a peer reviewed publication or chapter in a book	15
b	Co-author/editor of a peer reviewed publication or chapter in a book	5
c	Review of an article/chapter in a book/journal	3
d	Principal presenter/author of a paper/poster at a congress/symposium/refresher course.	10
e	Co-presenters/co-authors of a paper/poster at a congress/symposium/course/refresher course	5
f	Presenters of accredited short courses	10
g	Co-presenters of accredited short courses	5
h	Interactive skills workshop with an evaluation of the outcome	5
i	All learning material (which could include DVD, CD, internet or email activities) with MCQs for evaluation with a pass rate of 70%.	3 per questionnaire
j	Guest/occasional lecturer at an accredited institution	3 per lecture
k	Health personnel who supervise undergraduates/interns/postgraduates in clinical/technical training in collaboration with an accredited training institution on a regular basis during the academic year (if not in the job description)	2 per student (max 16 CEUs per calendar year)
l	External examiner of Masters and Doctoral thesis	5 per thesis
m	Workshops, lectures, seminars on ethics (not including general presentations with a so-called component on ethics)	2 per hour
n	Single modules of Masters degrees with part-time enrolment for study for non-degree purposes	5 on completion of module
o	Professional Interest Groups (this could include Journal Clubs if compliant with the criteria) that are formally constituted and present a regularly recurring programme that extends for one year with a minimum of 6 meetings per year. These activities should be ongoing or have a measurable outcome that is assessed according to criteria determined by the group, which may be interdisciplinary.	3 per meeting

Level 3

This level comprises structured learning, i.e. a formal programme that is planned and offered by an accredited training institution, is evaluated by an accredited assessor and has a measurable outcome. Successful completion of an activity at this level will earn 30 CEUs. Activities include:

(a) Postgraduate degrees and diplomas that are recognised as additional qualifications by the relevant Professional Board. At the end of each year of study (not exceeding the normal duration of the degree), 30 CEUs may be claimed upon submitting an academic report on progress. An additional 30 CEUs may be claimed on successful completion of the qualification;

(b) Short courses with a minimum of 25 hours with additional clinical hands-on training, plus a formal assessment of the outcome.

Other Activities

(c) Learning portfolios;

(d) Practice audit.

Guidelines for the latter two activities are available on the HPCSA website. Health professionals will need to submit documentation/portfolios to an Accreditor to obtain the 30 CEUs for these activities.

The following activities do not qualify for CEUs:

• time spent in planning, organising or facilitating any activity;
• published congress proceedings;
• non-referenced letters to the Editor of accredited journals;
• daily ward rounds;
• written assignments;
• compilation of student training manuals for internal use;
• staff and/or administrative meetings;
• tours and/or viewing of exhibits and technological demonstrations;
• membership of professional bodies, Professional Boards or associations;
• holding a portfolio on the professional body's executive or council structure; and
• presentations and publications to the public.

Meetings arranged by pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers or importers of products and technical devices (including assistive device technology) or their representatives purely for the purpose of marketing and/or promoting their products are not eligible for accreditation.

Activities for the purpose of training in the use of company products or technological devices may be presented by arrangement with an Accreditor or Accredited Service Provider.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

www.hpcsa.co.za

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR SERVICE PROVIDERS: FEBRUARY 2010 HPCSA

Continuing professional development (CPD) serves to maintain and enhance the knowledge, skills and ethical attitudes of practitioners so as to facilitate good quality of health care. CPD should meet an educational and developmental need and provide an effective learning experience for the participants. Professional Boards may delegate this function of accrediting service providers and activities to Accreditors with the mutual agreement of the Accreditor.

Accreditors are groups or institutions appointed by a Professional Board on the basis that they meet the criteria set out by the HPCSA CPD Committee. The role of the Accreditor is to review and approve applications for the provision of CPD activities (within its profession's ambit) by organizations and individuals without accredited service provider status; to monitor these activities; and to revise continuing education units (CEUs) allocated where the provider failed to comply with the rules and regulations of the CPD guidelines. Professional Boards may delegate their responsibility for accrediting service providers to Accreditors with the mutual agreement of the Accreditor. The criteria and processes to be followed as well as the procedures for record keeping has been developed by the HPCSA CPD Committee in consultation with the Accreditors and are contained in the Criteria and Guidelines for Accreditors document. These guidelines enable the Accreditors to standardise the process of accreditation and to fulfil their mandate effectively and timeously.

Accreditors who have been approved by a Professional Board will continue to function for the duration of the Board's term of office. Potential Accreditors should apply to the relevant Professional Boards for registration as an Accreditor on Form CPD4. Professional Boards shall, within their first year of office, review the existing Accreditors and appoint new Accreditors or re-appoint the existing Accreditors for a further period of five years.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR ACCREDITORS FEBRUARY 2010: HPCSA

The role of the Accreditor is

1. to review applications for -

   1. accreditation of accredited service providers if the function was delegated to them;
   2. applications for provision of Level 1 or 2 CPD activities by service providers according to the guidelines for service providers wishing to offer CPD activities;
2. to monitor compliance with the guidelines;
3. to revise continuing education units (CEUs) allocated where the provider failed to comply with the rules and regulations of the HPCSA CPD System;

4. to review Accredited Service Providers and submit a report to the HPCSA CPD Committee noting whether the following was adhered to:

   • a list of all activities during the year was provided; - all ethical activities were mentioned; - relevance of activities to the field of practice; - has an activity been presented more than once to the same audience; and
   • any problems experienced.
5. to investigate complaints against Accredited Service Providers.
6. to submit accredited CPD activities to the HPCSA for uploading on the website.

All Professional Boards will appoint Accreditors. Applications for accreditor status should be submitted to the relevant Professional Board (Form CPD 4). Boards will submit the list of their Accreditors to the HPCSA CPD Committee. After the election of new board members the Professional Boards will, within the first year, review the existing Accreditors and appoint new Accreditors or re-appoint the existing Accreditors for a further period of five years.

The Accreditor should establish a designated Accreditation Committee to facilitate good governance and accountability. A record of all applications received, as well as their outcomes and a record of the minutes of all Accreditor Committee Meetings is to be kept for at least three years.

To avoid conflict of interest, members of Accreditation Committees need to take cognizance of the Ethical Rules and the Policy on Undesirable Business Practice at all times.

In the case of straightforward applications where discussion is not necessary, the CEUs allocated by the designated person will be noted formally by the Committee at its next regular meeting. However, the accreditor must ensure that the proposed activity is free of undesirable commercial influence. Therefore the proposed activity should be ethically acceptable, of educational value, should provide a balanced view and must not be unduly promotional.

In the case of contentious or problematic applications where the designated committee cannot reach a decision (or in the case of an appeal by the provider), such an application, with supporting documentation, should be referred to the HPCSA CPD Committee.

Where an Accreditor stands to gain financially from recommending an application for approval, in order to avoid conflict of interest, such application should be referred to an independent Accreditor for review. This would exclude formal course material in the case of Universities or Institutes of Technology, and short courses/CPD activities approved by an independent quality assurance committee within the institution or organization.

The Accreditor should require the provider to indicate whether or not the application was submitted for accreditation to another Accreditor and if so, what the outcome was.

Levies for the accreditation of activities/accreditation of providers should be within approved guidelines as agreed to by the HPCSA CPD Committee and the National Accreditors Forum, in consultation with the relevant Professional Board. The Guidelines on the Accreditation fees will be prescribed by the HPCSA CPD Committee and may be audited on an annual basis.

An Accreditor will nominate a representative to the National Accreditors Forum.

The role of the National Accreditors Forum is to advise the HPCSA CPD Committee on (a) all problems and critical incidents brought to their attention, (b) policy matters with regard to the HPCSA CPD System, (c) standardization of accreditation activities, and (d) peer review of other Accreditors.

The HPCSA CPD Committee may randomly conduct quality assurance checks of Accreditors. Accreditor status may be reviewed and/or revoked after such quality check(s) or should any critical incident be brought to the HPCSA's attention.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR ACCREDITORS FEBRUARY 2010: HPCSA

The following bodies qualify for accreditor status, namely:

• Tertiary institutions involved in health sciences education,
• Education committees of Professional Boards, and
• Bona fide professional associations (excluding associations primarily involved with managed care).

The appropriate infrastructure must be provided by an Accreditor to facilitate proper functioning and administration of records. This infrastructure includes access to the internet; computer with database; e-mail and fax facilities; and dedicated administrative support.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR ACCREDITORS FEBRUARY 2010: HPCSA

Problems encountered, or complaints received regarding the handling of CPD activities, quality of the lectures, attendance control, issuing of certificates, commercial aims, etc., should be referred to the HPCSA CPD Committee of the HPCSA either electronically to cpd@hpcsa.co.za or in hard copy to HPCSA CPD Committee, P O Box 205, PRETORIA, 0001.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR ACCREDITORS FEBRUARY 2010: HPCSA

Yes - An Accreditor must keep a record of the following information about each activity to be presented for Continuing Professional Development purposes before the accreditation number and CEUs are published:

• Name and number of the accredited provider who presented the activity;
• The topic of the activity;
• The level of the activity;
• The number of CEUs for the activity;
• The dates (start-finish) the activity was presented;
• An attendance record that will reflect the names and HPCSA numbers of all the attendees; and
• The programme of the activity/application for mentoring and supervision, to enable the Professional Board to carry out quality control procedures.

Accreditors must have a record keeping system where all records described in (1) will be kept for a period of three years after the activity was presented/completed.

Guidelines for allocation of CEUs for Levels

Accreditors should obtain programmes for all activities where applicable. The programmes should be filed with the complete record of each activity.

Accreditors must have complete records of all activities before the activity takes place.

Accreditors must request that providers present certificates of attendance to attendees at the end of a once off activity or an activity that will be presented in one day.

Individual applications or mentoring and supervision must be handed in to an Accreditor before an accreditation number may be allocated. The Accreditor must file this application with the completed record of the activity.

Quality assurance should be performed.

Guidelines for the accreditation of CEUs for activities on Ethics, Human Rights and Medical Law

South Africa is defined in the first chapter of our constitution as being a democratic, independent republic based upon the principles of protecting dignity, human rights and the rule of law. Chapter two is a bill of rights which further defines these human rights including the rights to health care, food, water and social security. These are all issues intimately linked to the health care profession.

As health care professionals working in South Africa it is appropriate that practitioners should be familiar with the acts, regulations and guidelines that govern our practice. Furthermore professionals should have an understanding of the bioethical principles that determine how we perform research and interact with patients and society. Health care is a constantly advancing field and with these advances conflicts often arise within the arenas of politics, law, religion, philosophy and economics. An understanding of bioethics helps us to recognise, admit and sometimes resolve these conflicts.

The allocation of specific CEU's to ethics, human rights and medical law is an acknowledgement of how important these issues are to our practice. Practitioners are further encouraged to obtain these units with the allocation of double units as compared to CPD in other fields.

It is important however that CPD activities on these topics focus on issues of patient care. Ethics talks for instance can cover a wide range of topics but accreditation is generally awarded to talks concerning the principles of autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice and human dignity. Medical law activities should focus on the responsibilities of professionals and the rights of patients. For further guidance the HPCSA offers a range of guidelines on these topics and they are available on the website -www.hpcsa.co.za.

- CRITERIA AND GUIDELINES FOR ACCREDITORS FEBRUARY 2010: HPCSA