CPD
CPD for nurses Making it count
As Head of Nursing at TAFE Queensland East Coast (TQEC), Jo-Liz Prosser is gearing up to deliver the Diploma of Nursing in the new Sunshine Coast Health Institute (SCHI) in 2017. As an RN and nurse educator, Jo-Liz shares her views with AHHB editor Corin Kelly about the role of continuing professional development (CPD) in a nurse’s career.
Could you tell me about your own experience as a nurse and what role professional development has played in your career? I’ve been nursing for 19 years and I studied in NSW at the University of Western Sydney. I started my nursing career in Queensland and I found CPD invaluable during the first 12 months as I transitioned from being a student to a nurse. I had the knowledge and needed to put the skills in place and keep up with the current practice, policies and procedures. Moving from being a graduate nurse into a nurse through to clinical nurse unit manager, CPD helped me to keep with the latest trends in dressings, medications and procedures. If you don’t attend those conferences or read those journal articles you would fall behind very easily. As my career progressed I often found myself in an educator role, and if I had not
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THE AUSTRALIAN HOSPITAL + HEALTHCARE BULLETIN
SUMMER 2017
kept up to date through CPD I would have disadvantaged my students. Why is CPD important for nurses? What are the requirements and how is it monitored? CPD helps nurses to stay current and alert. It discourages complacency, improves safety and helps to ensure that we are providing the best possible care. For example, if I kept using the same sort of dressing on the same wound type when there is a newer dressing that has a quicker healing time or is less corrosive on the skin then I am not promoting the best outcome for my patient. For registered nurses (RNs) and enrolled nurses (ENs), 20 hours of CPD points are required annually. It is up to each nurse to keep track of their CPD activities. Nurses are asked to declare their CPD hours as part of their annual registration and if audited
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