Alterations to CPD during coronavirus pandemic
The COVID-19 epidemic continues to cause disruption to organisations and services across the UK. The College is doing all it can to support members during this time.
We appreciate the considerable pressures affecting our members who may have to be adapting quickly to new clinical situations and areas of clinical practice.
We also appreciate that organising CPD submissions at the moment is unlikely to be a priority. We have introduced the following measures as a result to ease this burden.
Thank you for all you are doing to support patients and clinical services during the pandemic.
Please keep in touch and let us know what support you need and how we can help to make your professional lives easier.
We hope that peer groups will continue to meet on a virtual basis using teleconferencing or video resources whilst social distancing measures remain in place.
They are a source of important professional support and a place to share ideas and learning. In some situations, meeting in this way will not be possible.
In this scenario the development of a PDP and its completion at the end of a CPD year can be approved and signed off by the group using email
In previous guidance the number of credits that could be awarded for e-learning could not exceed 25 per year.
During the pandemic, there will be no limit on e-learning that can be counted for CPD; it will be possible for all 50 credits to be obtained in this way.
Any modules from the College's CPD eLearning will be automatically acceptable as will the e-learning modules from the British Association for Psychopharmacology – subscription to these is available at a reduced rate for those who subscribe to the College's CPD eLearning.
We are planning to release some free learning modules that are automatically approved for CPD to College members to support remote learning whilst our conferences and face to face training is suspended.
The online system for recording CPD remains open in the usual way.
Our system has been changed to allow the issuing of a Certificate of Good Standing even if members have not completed the usual recommended 50 hours. We have been able to do this as the required hours can be spread over a 5-year period.
If you have not completed the full number of hours please apply in the usual way. Although you will receive an automatic message stating you are not in good standing, if you email cpdqueries@rcpsych.ac.uk the system can be manually overridden and you will be issued with a certificate of good standing.
We have cancelled all College events until 31 May.
We have been alerted that some of our members have received emails from a gmail or CDMSoftech account implying they represent College conferences. Please be aware that these emails are fraudulent, and this company is not associated with the College in any way.
These changes come into effect immediately. They will be reviewed regularly.
Once the pandemic is declared over, there will be a period of gradual change back to the original guidance to allow time for PDPs to be adjusted.
To get your Certificate of Good Standing or if you have any other queries related to your CPD, please email cpdqueries@rcpsych.ac.uk