The CPD Program is a system of accrediting and acknowledging your continuing post graduate professional training. CPD is compulsory to maintain registration and lets the public, health funds, relevant authorities and professional bodies know that you have undertaken recent educational activities relevant to your work in orthoptics.

Participation in the CPD Program to accrue 50 points of approved CPD activity during the registration biennium is required to maintain registration.  The allocation of points is based on the educational relevance, participation level and time involved in the CPD activity.

With CPD now compulsory a separate CPD Certificate of Currency is no longer issued.  The Registration Certificate includes a statement regarding CPD.

Orthoptists who have recently graduated - your degree in Orthoptics is proof of up-to-date professional training. The number of points required for the remainder of the CPD cycle will be based on when you graduated in the registration cycle.

The CPD Record must list at least 50 points of approved CPD activity by the end of the registration period to be eligible to renew registration.

If selected for audit, evidence of participation would include documentary proof such as:
Education
- Letter of invitation to present;
- signed diary note;
- acknowledgement of contribution.
Meetings and Conferences
- Receipt showing title and date of activity;
- attendance certificate.
Research
- Copy of publication;
- conference program/transactions
Self Education & Service Related
- Journal/article titles and subscription;
- copy of title page from audio/visual material;
- print of web page showing date and full web address;
- letter acknowledging clinic visit stating educational purpose and signed by clinician.

Yes and no!

The CPD Points Allocation Guidelines provide the structure of the program and the method of points allocation, i.e. Self-assess, Pre-approved or Submit.

Many activities have already been approved and the list is expanding rapidly. To see if an activity has been accredited, check the CPD Activities list.

Journal articles can be self assessed and claimed, although it is possible for the AOB to disallow the points if the article/Journal is not considered to be educationally relevant.

Conferences, meetings and some self education activities (such as web CPD and distance education) require approval. Refer to the Guidelines and CPD Activities list.

No, reading relevant professional literature is a Self-assessed activity which attracts 1 point per article to a maximum of 3 points per journal.

But if you are in doubt about whether an article will be credited you may choose to submit the journal and article titles plus relevant information in a batch periodically for accreditation.

If you are in doubt about any article/journal you should seek accreditation well in advance of the closing date for your CPD Record.

a) Yes, if you are each reading the journals you can each claim the points.

b) No, articles from a professionally relevant journal such as this example, do not need to be individually approved. Points are allocated per journal and attract 1 point per article to a maximum of 3 points per journal.

c) Journal subscription should be an example of evidence for verification but just listing the journals you read would be sufficient for this category - assuming the journals are relevant to clinical practice of course.

This could include sitting-in on another orthoptist's clinic if the orthoptist was performing an activity (eg investigative procedure, management technique) that is new to you. For example, you might attend a colleague's clinic to learn how to perform immersion A scans. This would be quite acceptable as a CPD activity (assuming you do not do immersion A scans now).

The CPD Activities list includes a list of Pre-approved CPD websites (see tab 4. Self Education) which is updated as new sources become available. If you find a site you think would be eligible for accreditation, submit the web address to the Board for approval and we can also add this to the pre-approved sites.

Organizations such as Medscape require subscription but it is free.

More points should be allocated for attending an activity where material is presented by a speaker of high professional standing. The limitation in the current breakdown is that it does not acknowledge Australian expertise and there will always be an issue of what is the difference between a local conference conducted in France (for example) that would be considered international if an Australian attended and the IOA Congress which happened to be located in Australia in 2004.

Conferences can be upgraded and this will be decided when CPD accreditation of the activity is applied for - it is why we want to know what the program is and who the speakers are.

You do not necessarily have to travel overseas to attend an international conference. It is quite possible an organization such as the Lions Eye Institute could host a conference with speakers of sufficient standing to upgrade the points allocation.

There is a list of pre-approved conferences such as the IOA Congress in the CPD Activities list. All conferences and meetings on the pre-approved list will be accredited and attract the points indicated in the CPD Points Allocation Guidelines.

However, it is still necessary for the organiser of pre-approved conferences and meetings to submit an application for accreditation with a copy of the program and detail of the speakers within 3 months of the meeting. This is to ensure (a) the standard of the conference/ meeting is at the expected level, and (b) to permit an upgrade of points in the case of high quality speakers and/or content.

If a pre-approved conference does not have points confirmed for the applicable year it may still be claimed by writing "Pre-appr" and claiming the number of points indicated in the CPD Points Allocation Guidelines.

Yes, relevant inservice courses count depending on the subject areas, presenters and orthoptic relevance.

Seminars and workshops are likely sources - check the CPD Point Allocation Guidelines to determine if these can be self-assessed or should be submitted for points allocation if you think the content provides an opportunity to learn in an area relevant to orthoptics.

Yes - activities undertaken before July 2019 cannot be counted toward meeting the CPD requirement for renewal of registration in July 2021.

CPD is an indication of currency in workplace practice so the Board can only consider activities from the current 2 year cycle.

Activities can be accredited up to 3 months retrospectively so if the activity is not noted on the CPD Points Allocation Gruidelines as self-assess, and is not already listed in the CPD Activities list, please submit it for consideration.

If an activity is not on the approved list you can apply to have it recognised and accredited up to 3 months after it has taken place.  Complete the CPD Activity Accreditation Application.

Receipts to indicate attendance are only required for verification of attendance and will be requested if you are selected for audit purposes. The conference program will not be enough for audit purposes.

Participation in the Continuing Professional Development program, is compulsory to maintain registration.

Requests for CPD Partial Exemption will be considered for limited circumstances.

It is not necessary to accredit a paper published in a refereed scientific journal or recognised conference transactions, but you will need to keep the publication details in case of audit.

You should submit for accreditation if the status of the publication is not certain ie it is not in a recognised scientific journal.

Applications for accreditation must provide sufficient information to assess the CPD activity and demonstrate:
a) that it provides development beyond the competencies required as a beginning practitioner,
b) its relevance to orthoptic practice/knowledge,
c) the participation level required, and
d) the time involved in the activity.

Accreditation can be applied for up to 3 months after the activity date.

Within three months of the activity: You may submit an application for assessment prior to the activity taking place but no later than three months after the activity date.

Check the list of accredited activities - it may be there if someone else has submitted it.

Changes in the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 require a practitioner to be recognised by an accredited body before a Private Health Fund can give a rebate to patients. Orthoptists are covered under a new rule to this Act - Rule 10 – which came into force on 1st July 2009.

Medibank Private has acknowledged the Australian Orthoptic Board as the suitable body to accredit Orthoptists and Registrants are eligible for a health provider number from Medibank Private.

All Private Health Insurers are bound by this legislation and are likely to follow Medibank Private's lead requesting verification of registration.

Orthoptists undertake a basic subject in pharmacology. They are expected to understand the mechanisms of action of the classes of drugs used in ophthalmic practice and be aware of the potential side effects and contraindications. They are not qualified to prescribe or dispense medication. So it would depend what your Orthoptist is doing - checking a patient has the correct medication that was prescribed by an ophthalmologist and is taking the dosage as indicated by the ophthalmologist seems reasonable but not to take responsibility for prescribing or altering medication in any way.

The Drugs and Poisons Act or similar in each state specifies requirements to obtain, prescribe, dispense medications. Orthoptists are bound by those Acts.