cost of cpd

Re: cost of cpd

sue dorey — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:27:14 GMT

The best value for money to meet target cpd requirement I found recenlty was the rvc online radiography course which was about £500 and counted as 35 hours. The FAb whole day was £40 so that was good but not such a learning day.I think the ones where you spend a weekend doing about 14 hours for about £800 ar overpriced, you are paying for use of a pool and a hotel.It must be better do go somewhere local for a day.Prices have to be affordable to all, whether you work full or part time , not assuming you work in a large organisation who can afford or have to spend these high amounts as part of them being'investors in people'.The modular certificate prices are very high and not affordable in my opinion.

Re: cost of cpd

Arlo Guthrie — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 09:53:35 GMT

Here's the latest on the sorts of activities on VetSurgeon.org that can count as CPD.

Simply reading content on VetSurgeon.org can count towards the 10 hours of undocumented CPD you are allowed to undertake each year.

Other activities on VetSurgeon.org can count towards the requirement for 35 hours of documented CPD, without restriction, if it's part of a documented process of appraisal and development. VetSurgeon.org keeps a record of your activity on the website (My Account > View My Profile > View all activity), which provides an auditable trail.

The general rule is that provided you keep a record of how participating in VetSurgeon.org has contributed to your professional development, it qualifies towards documented CPD. For example:

Participating in forums
If you post a question on VetSurgeon.org and receive a reply, you may count the time spent posting your question and reading the answer as CPD. You should keep a note of what you learned.

If you post a reply to a question, and needed to research your answer, the time you spend researching and posting your answer also counts as CPD. So, if you are a specialist answering a question in your sleep, that doesn't count. But if the question made you think, and you need to check your facts, that does.

To count towards your CPD allowance, your forum posts must concern a subject which can reasonably be argued to advance your knowledge and proficiency as a vet (so RCVS-bashing posts won't qualify!)
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Publishing content on VetSurgeon
VetSurgeon offers a number of additional opportunities to self-publish on the site, and any time spent researching and publishing qualifying content (which can reasonably be argued to advance your knowledge and proficiency as a vet) can count towards your documented CPD. For example, Practical Veterinary Tips (http://www.vetsurgeon.org/blogs/veterinary-tips/default.aspx) is a newsfeed in which members can publish clinical tips; the time you spend researching and publishing a tip would qualify.
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Documented reading
Additionally, time spent reading the site where you document specifically what you have read and what you have learned can also count towards your documented CPD.

Re: cost of cpd

Mike Martin — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 12:25:48 GMT

[quote user="Malcolm Ness"]regularly have people "seeing practice" [/quote]

Yes, we often have vets observing too. I think this is great CPD and its free (well maybe some biscuits for a cuppa), there's all sorts of practical skills to learn that you don;t get from a course and if you are learning ultrasound, time seeing this is very useful - and of course all counts towards your 35 hours.

Re: cost of cpd

Gillian Mostyn — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:26:05 GMT

[quote user="Laurence Webb"]Although all this is good value for money I think the best course I went on last year was a 2d ultrasound one by CPD Solutions which cost a lot, but was still well worth the money as the investment has been recouped.[/quote]

Have just done a 2d ultrasound course with them myself - it was expensive but excellent!

Re: cost of cpd

Malcolm Ness — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:24:30 GMT

We run monthly CPD meetings at our Hospital which are free to any vets or nurses in the area.

Several of our clinicians regularly have people "seeing practice" with them - usually folk who are registered for certificates or diplomas but sometimes just vets with an interest.

There are plenty of opportunities for free CPD out there if you are keen and you go looking.

Having been on both sides of the fence (CPD consumer and teacher/course leader) I would agree only in part with Evelyn's comments about practical content and also give a word of warning - if you aren't completely up to speed with the theoretical background then practical training is at best useless and at worst dangerous.

The commercial companies need to put bums on seats and are not always very choosy about who they will take money from. I recall teaching hip replacement surgery on a course where one delegate had no post grad surgical training and experience of nothing more major that a pyo - the course was a complete waste of his time and money. Similarly, these hands-on courses that offer to teach you to be an orthopaedic surgeon in two weekends are more than a little misleading!

Re: cost of cpd

Arlo Guthrie — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 09:07:05 GMT

[quote user="Laurence Webb"] So asking how to get free CPD counts as free CPD[/quote]

I was about to crack that one myself, but you've beaten me to it. I'm hoping to give some proper guidelines shortly, but no, that wouldn't count any more than participating in an RCVS-bashing thread!

Re: cost of cpd

Evelyn Barbour-Hill — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 23:57:44 GMT

Textbooks, journals, MP3 copies of BSAVA lectures, and the like, are all proper CPD.

Not only are they very cheap compared to lectures and courses but you keep the text and can return to it whenever you like.

Personally I don't see the point of a course that's not at least 50% practical.

Re: cost of cpd

Laurence Webb — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:37:05 GMT

[quote user="Arlo Guthrie"]

participating in these forums (and certain other activities on the site) can count towards your 35 hour annual requirement, without restriction.

[/quote]

So asking how to get free CPD counts as free CPD

Re: cost of cpd

Laurence Webb — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:35:43 GMT

There is a fair bit of free/cheap CPD out there, although if you want the best quality CPD then you need to pay for it.

IDEXX do online webinars (probably around 1 per month) so approx 12h per year. They also have a few online courses. All free. Pfizer have a 10h Dental CPD course and a 6h dermatology one (done most of the dental one but not looked at the derm one yet). Also free so that's 30h in total without spending a penny.

KeystepsCPD have lots of online couses. I can't remember how much it cost, but only 1 person in the practice needs to subscribe to get access to about 50hours CPD, which everyone can use.

As already mentioned, the London Vet show gave around 14h CPD for about £50 + VAT. Hope they run the same offers next year.

Although all this is good value for money I think the best course I went on last year was a 2d ultrasound one by CPD Solutions which cost a lot, but was still well worth the money as the investment has been recouped.

Re: cost of cpd

salome2001 — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 21:20:06 GMT

35 hours= four days of BSAVA congress @£400-ish (plus hotel and travel) (I *do* go to most lectures each day!)

plus 10 hours "self-study"

this year also the London Vet Show, which was cheap if you took up the early bird offers and hopefully the ESFM congress next year

I'm self-employed and only work part time 2 days a week so CPD eats up a significant part of my income: roughly £8 per day I work (RCVS takes another £3 and the VDS £4. Then there's childcare at £56/day, and there's tax and NI on top of that... Just as well I love the job).

Re: cost of cpd

Arlo Guthrie — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:50:02 GMT

What a serendipitous post. I've just been researching this very subject.

I will have an official statement to make soon (that probably sounds grander than I mean it to!), but participating in these forums (and certain other activities on the site) can count towards your 35 hour annual requirement, without restriction. And it's free!

More news on this soon. Watch this space.

Re: cost of cpd

Hanna Bennett — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:26:55 GMT

we build a part of the cpd cost into the salary package and part is funded directly by the practice. This is discussed at interview so we are up front about it. - £1000 of salary package is cpd, and then we match this and more as required. We are a six vet private practice, and routinely send our vets on modular courses. It's part of our budget so we know the money is allocated at the start of the year. It pays back many times over with vets who are confident with the latest techniques. We have provided raises in the form of extra cpd spending too. and had a positive response to this.

Re: cost of cpd

Mike Martin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 17:25:47 GMT

It is...I agree. The prices have crept up and up. And now, there are many courses with hardly a dozen delegates. You would think this would alert the providers to the simple business plan of "supply and demand" and so reduce their price. But I think some now have invested as a business and have significant overheads.

So what type of course is preferred?

Whole day, half day (am or pm) or evening? Or modular courses?

And what would be a fair cost for these?