RCVS launches CPD platform

The RCVS has officially launched (27 January) its learning and development platform 1CPD.

The platform has replaced the professional development record (PDR) as the means of planning, recording and reflecting on veterinary professionals’ CPD.

Outcomes

The launch accompanies and facilitates a number of other CPD policy changes, including the introduction of the new outcomes-focused CPD model, which was introduced in 2020 and becomes mandatory from 2022.

A key of 1CPD is it encourages veterinary professionals to reflect on the quality, relevance and impact of the CPD they undertake through the incorporation of the “plan, do, record, reflect” cycle of CPD on the platform.

Reflection

RCVS director of education Linda Prescott-Clements said: “Although the outcomes-focused element of these changes won’t become mandatory until January 2022, we recommend you incorporate reflection in your cycle of planning, doing and recording CPD as soon as possible, and our new 1CPD app makes this much easier to do than before.

“To support this CPD model, which research has shown has a positive impact on both professionalism and patient outcomes, the 1CPD platform facilitates reflection by allowing you to record your reflective notes on your recorded CPD activities, through a variety of means including text, audio or uploading a document.”

App

The app is available for both Apple and Android devices, available online and offline and through a new dedicated website – all of which is now accessible using the same credentials used to access My Account.

The PDR has been taken offline and all of the data saved in it has now been transferred to 1CPD.

More information

The launch of 1CPD also coincides with a change in the way the RCVS assesses CPD compliance, moving to an annual CPD requirement of 35 hours a year for vets and 15 hours a year for vet nurses.

More information on the CPD changes, along with accompanying resources, can be found on the RCVS website.