Continuing Professional Development
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is expected of registered veterinarians in all States and Territories in Australia. All jurisdictions have agreed, through the Australasian Veterinary Boards Council (AVBC) and the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA), that a minimum of 60 CPD points must be attained over a consecutive three year cycle.
CPD points are described as either structured or unstructured. Structured CPD points are allocated to activities which can be externally validated such as attendance at conferences and workshops, completion of courses and authoring or refereeing of peer reviewed articles. At least 15 of the minimum 60 CPD points must be structured points. Unstructured CPD points are allocated to activities such as private reading, clinical rounds, mentoring and unassessed computer based courses.
The Veterinary Practice Act 2003 requires NSW registered veterinarians to submit an Annual Return. One section of the Annual Return requires veterinarians to report CPD points attained during the period from 1 April to 31 March.