Continuing Professional Development

The RACS Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program is developed in consultation with specialty societies, associations and RACS committees to support you to maintain your surgical standards and to comply with regulatory authority requirements in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

The current CPD period runs from 1 July 2021 to 31 December 2022.

CPD Homes

In July 2021, Australia’s Health Ministers approved an updated MBA Registration Standard: Continuing professional development (CPD) which outlines the MBA’s minimum requirements for CPD for medical practitioners. The new registration standard will take effect from 1 January 2023, and will apply to all registered medical practitioners, not just those who are fellows or trainees of a specialist medical program (SMC).

A CPD home is an organisation accredited by the Australian Medical Council (AMC), to provide a CPD program for medical practitioners. A CPD home may be an education provider, another organisation with a primary educational purpose, or an organisation with a primary purpose other than education. Practitioners will need to advise AMC who their CPD Home in their medical registration.

The three core changes to CPD are:

1. CPD homes for all – for quality assurance.
2. Professional development plans for all – for CPD with purpose.
3. Different types of CPD – for CPD with value.

The new registration standard is part of the MBA’s work to strengthen continuing professional development, which supports practitioners through life-long learning.

RACS has responded to consultation on the new standard and a call for Expressions of Interest to become a CPD Home. It is anticipated that RACS will complete the accreditation process by the end of 2022, with much of the work already undertaken. The key areas that require further consideration include:

- Privacy and Reporting requirements
- Embedding Cultural Safety, Health Equity, Professionalism and Ethical Practice into the Program
- Support for Fellows who require remediation

 RACS is committed to setting and leading surgical standards, professionalism and education across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. At the core of these standards is ensuring the safe, effective, and timely surgical services and patient centred care.

Your feedback is valuable, follow the link to complete a CPD Survey. The survey will only take a few minutes to complete.

For further information regarding CPD Homes, please visit the AMC Website.

For all your CPD enquiries, please contact the team at cpd.college@surgeons.org or +61 3 9249 1282.