Continuing Professional Development In Social Care

All allied health and social care professionals are required to engage in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in order to systematically maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge and skills and so develop the personal qualities and attributes required in their working lives. Extensively updated and revised, this second edition now reflects the latest regulatory requirements of health and social care professionals in the UK, and addresses the needs of health professionals working worldwide, including social workers who are now regulated in the UK by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). In addition, new chapters address the specific needs of support workers and students of the relevant professions. The book discusses the theoretical basis for maintaining competence and offers practical guidance on how to develop a strategy for professional and career development. Ways of developing and maintaining a portfolio and of creating a profile to meet regulatory body requirements are addressed, and there is an emphasis on the development of learning skills, skills of reflection and critical evaluation as central to the CPD process. Attention is given to the specific needs of those professionals working directly with service users in practice, those holding managerial positions, employed in education and undertaking research. The second edition of this practical guide provides invaluable advice for successful continuing professional development for health and social care professionals at all stages of their career. • Provides practical guidance on strategies for lifelong learning and continuing professional development • Addresses the very latest CPD and regulatory requirements for health and social care professionals • Includes specific CPD strategies for students and support workers as well as professionals employed in practice, management, education and research

Today in the United States, the professional health workforce is not consistently prepared to provide high quality health care and assure patient safety, even as the nation spends more per capita on health care than any other country. The absence of a comprehensive and well-integrated system of continuing education (CE) in the health professions is an important contributing factor to knowledge and performance deficiencies at the individual and system levels. To be most effective, health professionals at every stage of their careers must continue learning about advances in research and treatment in their fields (and related fields) in order to obtain and maintain up-to-date knowledge and skills in caring for their patients. Many health professionals regularly undertake a variety of efforts to stay up to date, but on a larger scale, the nation's approach to CE for health professionals fails to support the professions in their efforts to achieve and maintain proficiency. Redesigning Continuing Education in the Health Professions illustrates a vision for a better system through a comprehensive approach of continuing professional development, and posits a framework upon which to develop a new, more effective system. The book also offers principles to guide the creation of a national continuing education institute.

Continuing professional development has become an important and widespread practice in twenty-first-century social work. This volume traces its emergence and evolution, identifying the characteristics of continuing professional development, the barriers to undertaking it, and the way social workers view it. Drawing on an international survey of practitioners and interviews with social workers and their managers, the authors provide unique insight into the possibilities and challenges of continuing professional development for newly qualified and experienced social workers alike.

Therapists must increase their understanding of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to maintain and improve competence. Every practitioner will need to take steps to maintain and demonstrate continued competence under the provisions of the new Health Act 1999. This book considers current policy on CPD and discusses the theoretical basis for maintaining competence and for adult learning. Primarily, however, it provides practical guidance on how to develop a strategy for professional and career development, and on portfolio preparation that shows evidence of professional updating and CPD. Many examples are given of activities in the areas of clinical work, management, education and research that can be used for CPD. The development and use of learning skills such as reflection and critical evaluation is considered central to the process. Written specifically with the therapist in mind, this book will provide invaluable practical advice to occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiographers, speech and language therapists, and podiatrists.

There has been a recent focus on how practitioners can engage with continuing professional learning and development. This book is written to support and help busy social workers in front line practice, as well as those in leadership and management roles, to achieve the key aims of continuing professional development (CPD) in a post-qualifying social work context. There are sections on how to engage with CPD at an appropriate level, understanding complex thinking and practices and developing professional reasoning and judgement that can be appropriately recognised and evaluated.

Continuing professional development (CPD) has become a defining issue in twenty-first century social work. There is widespread consensus in favour of CPD. But what is it? Are there discernible international trends? What are the barriers to participating in CPD? What do social workers think about and want from CPD? This book seeks to answer these questions. Based on a survey and interviews with social work practitioners, CPD in social work offers a unique insight into the possibilities and challenges of CPD and the issues it presents for newly qualified and experienced social workers in practice. Combining the perspectives of social workers and their managers with international research, assures its global appeal. It offers possible directions for the future of post qualifying social work education, making it essential reading for practitioners, educators, managers and policy-makers.

The social work profession is in a state of flux including a change of regulator, a new College of Social Work and a new approach to CPD. There is a lot to get to grips with and social workers are now expected to take responsibility for ensuring their professional development needs are met but how to go about it? This book offers social workers the opportunity to be innovative and to take professional control in reflecting on their learning needs and achievements, and enhancing their practice. By developing a professional portfolio social workers can bring all the elements of the changing environment into a single place so that their individual practice lies at the heart of service improvement. But this is a new concept and approach for social workers so this book will help them deal with the process, provide hints, tips and guidance on constructing a portfolio in line with the PCF. It also helps guide critical reflection to support them to learn from their own practice. Evidencing CPD provides a comprehensive guide to support social workers to create and develop their own portfolio and focus on critical reflection as a learning tool for CPD activities. This timely publication is packed with examples and exercises to support personal portfolio development and is mapped to the different levels of social work progression.

"This text helps qualified social workers, as well as those about to qualify, to build on their initial studies in order to develop professionally ... Aimed at the newly qualified practitioner and the developing professional"--Back cover.

This thoroughly revised edition of the popular Strategic Guide to Continuing Professional Development for Health and Care Professionals includes the latest professional policy guidance updates as well as the results of the authors’ ongoing research into professional development within health and social care. The importance of applying new learning in practice is reflected by the updated TRAMm model, in which ‘A’ now stands for ‘Apply’ (rather than ‘Activity’, as in the first edition). There is a new chapter on changing mindsets about CPD and how to create opportunities for learning and development, despite limited resources in the current economic climate. The authors have also expanded the chapter on CPD engagement, with updated evidence on exploring your preferred styles of learning. Continuing professional development (CPD) is essential for all health and social care professionals. It is also beneficial for organisations. Evidence shows that when there is significant investment in CPD, individuals feel valued and their practice improves. In order to maximise the potential of your CPD, this practical handbook guides you through the updated five TRAMm stages or ‘stations’: Tell (T), Record (R), Apply (A), Monitor (M) and measure (m). The tried-and-tested TRAMm Model reflects the five standards for CPD laid down by the Health and Care Professions Council; and your own learning needs provide the main focus, enabling you to develop a full CPD portfolio as you progress. At the end of each chapter, there are opportunities to reflect on your learning – and apply theory to practice through a series of tasks. Designed for all levels (from health and social care students to experienced practitioners), this book may also be useful for associated support workers and other healthcare professionals, including doctors, pharmacists, optometrists, nurses and midwives. In addition, some aspects will be relevant for professionals outside healthcare, such as teachers, surveyors and engineers.

If social work students are to flourish in their careers, and go beyond a basic sense of ‘competence’ in practice, it is essential to develop a sense of Professional Self. This book will help students develop critical understanding of their own social work practice, and the tools and skills required to become a professional social worker. It includes: Chapters on practising Reflexivity and the importance of Relationships in social work Contributions from leading social work academics A focus on building a professional identity through learning and practice The emphasis is on developing your professionalism, and how that journey translates into everyday practice. To help this growth there are further chapters on getting the best from continuing professional development, challenging poor practice and professionalism and ethics. Professor Jonathan Parker is Deputy Dean for Research and Enterprise and Director of the Centre for Social Work and Social Policy at Bournemouth University. He is currently conducting cross cultural research on learning and practice with colleagues in Southeast Asia. Professor Mark Doel is Professort Emeritus in the Centre for Health and Social Care Research at Sheffiled Hallam University, and a registered social worker. Mark′s research experience is in the fields of practice education, social work practice methods, and service user involvement.