SKILLS & LEARNING
CPD: CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN Priya Tew Freelance Dietitian and Specialist in Eating Disorders Priya runs Dietitian UK, a freelance dietetic service that specialises in social media and media work, consultancy for food companies, eating disorder support, IBS and Chronic Fatigue. She works with NHS services, The Priory Hospital group and private clinics as well as providing Skype support to clients nationwide.
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Continuing professional development (CPD) is something we all need to stay abreast of, but it is also something that can feel a little overwhelming. I don’t think it has to be as complicated as we sometimes make it out to be . . . As dietitians, we are always interested in the latest research, looking things up and talking to others about nutritional issues. All of these are CPD. So, I think, actually, most of us will find that we do our CPD all the time, but just don’t always formalise it. I know I can be guilty of that. It is important to maintain our CPD portfolio, whether this is in paper format, a spreadsheet, or a more formalised system. Record all your CPD sessions, mentoring sessions, research, creations and projects. Whilst it can feel overwhelming to know that you may be selected for audit, you actually don’t need to have vast amounts recorded. Just a few items a month is enough. It is the act of recognising and recording it as CPD that can get missed. Some software you can use for recording includes: www.cpd-online.com/content/ dietitian-cpd-professional-development and the BDA Continuing Professional Development Toolkit: www.bda.uk.com/ training/cpd/home. In my NHS work, I had to fight for funding to go on courses. Then going freelance, I initially thought that this would be even harder. Now that I am my own boss, however, I get to choose what my CPD budget is and what to spend it on. There are also so many free options out there now. Here are some CPD ideas that I’ve pulled together for inspiration. What I would encourage you to do is to share any good CPD resources you find. Tweet them, share them in a group - because we all need to stay abreast of
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new research and be on top of our CPD, so why not do it as a community? TRADITIONAL WAYS TO KEEP UP WITH CPD
• Attending study days, professional lectures and seminars. • Reflective practice about a project or clinical work. • Formal courses and further education. • Subscribing to dietetics journals and free magazines such as NHD. • Updating product information, diet sheets and any handouts you use regularly. • Accessing medical and nutritional reps to get updates on the latest products. • Reviewing medical and professional journals regularly. • Becoming part of a council or specialist interest group. • Downloading and filling in CPD eArticles provided by NHD. • Talks you have given to others. • Presenting at conferences/study days. • Finding a mentor and holding regular clinical supervision sessions. • Accessing free study days - try the nutrition reps.
Table 1: Online resources for CPD Webinars
Podcasts
Twitter chats
Nutrition Foundation: www.nutrition.org.uk/ nutritionscience/webinars.html
Nutrition Matters
#RDUK www.rdukchat.com
Dietitians Connection: www.dietitianconnection.com/ product-category/webinars/freewebinars/
Don’t salt my game
#foodchat Fortnightly Tuesdays 6pm
Freelance Dietitians Group
Food Psych
#dietitiansweek
Todays Dietitian: www.ce.todaysdietitian.com/ Webinars
The Food Medic
#allergyhour Thurs 8.30-9.30pm
Nutricia: www.nutricialearningcenter.com/ en/specialized-adult-nutrition/ webinars
You can eat with us
Aspen: www.nutritioncare.org/ webinars/ SOCIAL MEDIA/ONLINE CPD
The nutrition diva
• Reading nutrition blogs, online books, listening to podcasts. • Being part of twitter chats, or LinkedIn and Facebook groups. (You can use the storify link on twitter to save the whole chat for reference.). Networking with other dietitians and seeking their advice as a chat over social media or a thread on Facebook can count. • Reading and updating yourself on current practice guidelines via NICE, PEN, BDA and professional body websites. Using websites such as PEN to learn and update. I use PEN a lot for media quotes and for a quick search when I’m seeing a client. • Participating in journal clubs, such as the Nutrition and Dietetics journal club on Facebook: www.facebook.com/ groups/1947271008868892/ • Accessing webinars. There are so many free ones now and these are often in the evenings. Some of the BDA specialist groups host some, such as the Freelance Dietitians Group.
NHD eArticles with CPD
• Online training courses - there are lots of these now and many are free. BMJ learning, Open Learn (Open University Free learning), Udemy.com. • Following other evidence-based practitioners in your field on social media and learning from them. • Writing and blogging - articles for websites and online magazines; updating your own blog and sharing your knowledge. • Creating Youtube videos to upload to your own channel. CPD can feel like a mountain, but in all honesty. it is something we all do, everyday, even if we don’t realise it. When you climb a mountain you take it one step at a time and maintain your focus. When that mountain is CPD, maybe it is about having set times to reflect, to record and to realise that CPD is just part of the work we do as nutrition professionals.
• Continuing professional developement • Answer questions • Download & keep for your files
TO VIEW OUR LATEST CPD eARTICLE PLEASE VISIT NHDmag.com www.NHDmag.com November 2018 - Issue 139
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