It’s not too late to start recording your CPD.

We have received feedback from Pharmacists who have recently started recording their CPD to say that it was much easier than they expected.

You can make CPD entries on issues you reflect on during your day-to-day life as a pharmacist. Remember that just about any activity that helps you to improve your practice can be recorded as CPD. Our case studies may help you get started.

If you follow the prompt questions on an RPSGB Plan and Record approved recording format (either on paper, online or on desktop) then you have a very good chance of making a decent CPD entry.

Where to start

You can start a CPD entry at any of the four points in the cycle (i.e. reflection, planning, action or evaluation). For good practice you should make more than one entry which starts at reflection.

Allowing you to start your record of entry at any point in the learning cycle provides you with greater flexibility in recording your CPD. This recognises that peoples experience in learning and professional development occurs at different points in the learning cycle and in turn should make it easier for you to make entries of relevant CPD within your CPD record.

The cycle remains consistent in that all learning entries that you make, no matter at what point you enter the cycle, must end with evaluation. Consequently your CPD entries will cover the stages of the CPD cycle as follows:

• For learning that starts at reflection: reflection » planning » action » evaluation
• For learning that starts at planning: planning » action » evaluation
• For learning that starts at action: action » evaluation
• For learning that starts at evaluation: evaluation

When to start an entry at reflection

You should start at an entry at reflection when you identify a gap in your knowledge, skills, and attributes. This can be achieved through self assessment using the Plan & Record Good Practice criteria, your own experience (critical incident analysis), your personal development planning process, your appraisal, peer reviews, informal discussions etc. Once you have identified an area for improvement, either alone, with your colleagues or with your employer as part of your CPD cycle, you can define the learning activity you need to undertake. The learning that follows will then constitute a CPD entry which starts at Reflection.

The Good Practice Guidance states that you should reflect on your practice at least once per month.

When to start an entry at planning

Whilst determining an objective as a result of reflection is often the precursor for developing a learning plan, there will be instances where you will have no specific learning objective in mind. For example, you might decide to read the news section of the PJ every week. You are not looking for a specific piece of information or to develop specific new knowledge or skills, you are just looking stay up to date with what is going on in the profession. In most instances starting at planning will have a very broad scope where you are looking to improve your understanding across a range of issues. This gives you the opportunity to assess the advantages and disadvantages to you as the learner in undertaking these activities and to choose which ones you finally undertake.

Having made this decision it is then possible to follow the rest of the cycle through, planning your learning, determining and monitoring your actions and evaluating the result.

When to start an entry at action

If you haven't thought about a gap in your learning and planned what you are going to learn, but have learnt something which will contribute to the quality or development of your practice, then you should start the entry at Action and go on to evaluate the impact of your new learning. This type of unplanned learning is opportunist or unscheduled learning.

When to start an entry at evaluation

As the CPD programme is designed to capture the continuous lifelong learning that constitutes professional life, it is recognised there are occasions that you will apply new knowledge, skills or attitudes that you have learnt incidentally. On these occasions, you may not recall what prompted you to learn the particular ability or knowledge. Or the ability or knowledge may have been gained with the intent of applying it in another area of your life. However you were able to recall and apply it in a relevant professional situation.

As you are at the end point of the learning cycle it is only necessary to record the evaluation of your learning.

Reflecting your practice

Your CPD records need to be relevant to you and reflect your area and scope of practice that you currently work in. So, if you are working in a specialist field, such as oncology, or as an advanced practitioner, such as a prescriber, your records would need to contain entries to reflect this. Similarly, if you work in secondary care but also do locum work in community practice your records should include CPD from both areas.