The Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists has a long standing commitment to Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

IASLT first introduced CPD guidelines in 2006. A process of auditing members CPD to ensure compliance with CPD Standards was implemented in 2008.

In October 2014, statutory registration opened for Speech and Language Therapists. All Speech and Language Therapists working in Ireland must be registered with CORU and are bound by CORU’s Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics for Speech and Language Therapists. CPD is a requirement under the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics adopted by the SLT Registration Board. All registered Speech and Language Therapists must:

• ensure that your knowledge, skills and performance are of a high quality, up to date and relevant to your practice;
• participate in continuing professional development (CPD) on an on-going basis by identifying your learning needs, making a personal learning plan, implementing the plan and reflecting on the learning you gained from the CPD activities;
• maintain clear and accurate records of your CPD and submit your records for audits of compliance when requested by the Speech and Language Therapists Registration Board;
• comply with the Speech and Language Therapists Registration Board’s CPD requirements.

The Irish Association of Speech and Language Therapists (IASLT) also requires an ongoing commitment from all members to participate in continuing professional development. All members are required to keep up to date with evidence-based clinical approaches and methodology, current thinking on best practice and legislative requirements. CPD involves IASLT members identifying their own development needs and planning a programme of education and learning to meet these needs. It involves members taking responsibility for the content, relevance and quality of their own professional development. Reflection on learning and relevance for professional practice is a fundamental component of effective CPD.

IASLT launched an online CPD Portfolio in 2014 to support members to meet their CPD requirements for IASLT membership.

IASLT members are advised to familiarise themselves with CORU’s CPD requirements for Speech and Language Therapists. CORU’s CPD requirements are subject to change without the prior knowledge of IASLT. It is a member’s responsibility to ensure that they are up to date with requirements at any one time and to ensure that their CPD record reflects CORU’S requirements. The SLT CPD requirements for CORU can be accessed on the CORU website.

IASLT Position Statement. Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

Professional development refers to a process whereby individual members of a professional organisation or association update their level of knowledge and refine or learn new skills for application in relevant professional practice and the associated workplace. Continuing professional development (CPD) is the ongoing process of developing and updating the knowledge and skills necessary to ensure competent professional practice. All speech and language therapists have an ethical and professional responsibility to actively engage in CPD throughout their working lives. Lifelong learning is a key concept of CPD because it emphasises that each professional needs to continually update their professional knowledge, skills and competencies for practice. It also embraces the idea that each professional is responsible for their own learning.

IASLT Standards for CPD require that all members must:

Standard 1
Maintain a continuous, accurate and current record of their CPD activities using the IASLT Online CPD Portfolio.

Standard 2
Demonstrate that CPD undertaken is relevant to the scope of speech and language therapy (SLT) practice and seeks to improve the quality of SLT practice or service delivery with the aim of benefiting the SLT service user.

Standard 3
Demonstrate that they have participated in CPD activities in two categories in the membership year. Members must show evidence of a minimum of 10 examples of CPD activities with a minimum of 1 example from the Professional Activities category.

Standard 4
Members must show that the activity has resulted in new learning and that reflection on the learning has taken place.

Standard 5
Members must participate in an audit of CPD on request from IASLT.

2.0 The CPD Process

Overview of the CPD Process

The CPD Process sets out the stages that members is required to undertake to meet the IASLT CPD standards and requirements for statutory registration.

There are 5 stages in the CPD Process:

1. Review
2. Plan
3. Implement
4. Reflect
5. Demonstrate

The 5 stages of the cycle are presented in sequential order in the graphic above. However additional learning can arise at any time that may not have been planned.

The IASLT online CPD Portfolio is designed to enable members to complete the CPD process and meet IASLT and CORU requirements.

It contains the following:

1. Description of professional role and practice
2. Personal learning
3. Record of CPD activities
4. Reflective
5. Evidence of CPD learning

Professional Role and Practice Setting

In this section members will be asked to describe their current professional role and practice setting, main responsibilities, any specialist areas of work and service users.

CPD Planning

CPD planning is a critical part of the CPD cycle. It is important that members are able to demonstrate to IASLT and the regulator, that the goals each member sets are relevant to your professional practice. Each IASLT member must therefore plan a CPD programme based on the identification of their learning needs and the appropriate methods to meet these needs. IASLT members should:

• Ensure that a CPD program is planned based on the identification of learning needs and the appropriate methods to meet those.
• Ensure the CPD accessed is relevant to your learning needs and your scope of clinical practice.
• Evaluate and reflect on CPD and consider how it has improved the quality of your practice and benefitted the service.

The planning stage can be carried out independently or in consultation with a manager, supervisor or colleague.

Members should use the IASLT online CPD portfolio to plan their CPD and develop a personal development plan. The personal development plan includes the following headings:

• My Strengths; What am I doing well?
• My areas for improvement; What could work better?
• My new skills; What should I change?
• My areas for development; What should I do differently?

CPD activities should be linked to the personal learning needs as much as possible, however IASLT also acknowledges that spontaneous learning opportunities may arise during the course of work and they too can be added to the CPD Plan.

Implement

IASLT recommend that all members show evidence of a minimum of 60 CPD hours in each two year CPD cycle. An ‘hour’ is the time spent engaged with an activity where a member is learning. One hour equals one credit. A member must be able to show evidence that the activity has resulted in new learning and that reflection on the learning has taken place. It is the members responsibility to reflect on their learning and to allocate the appropriate number of credits to each CPD activity and to record learning in the CPD reflective record.

Reflect and Demonstrate

All CPD undertaken must involve reflection on the learning and evidence of how the learning has been integrated into practice. The IASLT Reflective Record links to outcomes (reflection and behavioural change) rather than participation alone.

The Learning Cycle outlines the process of learning from an activity or experience.

Key features of the IASLT reflective record include the following:

• Recognises the value of learning from a variety of
• Helps to complete the learning cycle and maximize learning from an event.
• Recognises that learning is an individual and personal
• Helps to plan future
• Reinforces individual responsibility in
• Provides a format for recording evidence of development

Maintaining Records

IASLT members must maintain clear and accurate records of their CPD. Members are responsible for completing each section of the online CPD portfolio. Paper records will not be accepted.

Two Categories:

1. Professional Activity SLT Specific
2. Self-directed learning

Required evidence: IASLT recommend that all members show evidence of a minimum of 60 CPD credits in each two year. An ‘hour’ is the time spent engaged with an activity where a member is learning. One hour equals one credit. A member must be able to show evidence that the activity has resulted in new learning and that reflection on the learning has taken place.

1. Professional Activity SLT Specific

Required evidence: you must be able to show evidence that this activity has resulted in new learning and that reflection on the learning has taken place. Participation alone is not sufficient.

Active participation in professional body.

Courses – attendance at courses, study days, conferences, seminars all directly related to SLT practice

Course - attendance at multidisciplinary and subject sepcific conferences e.g. stroke conference.

Further Education – Studying for a higher degree or qualification relevant to the profession of SLT, e.g. PhD, Masters, post-graduate diplomas

Active enagagement in research – relevant to the practice of speech and language therapy

Lecturing/ Teaching – on a training course relevant to the practice of speech and language therapy.

Publication of book or full article in peer reviewed journal.

Publication of book review, course review in professionally relevant newsletter Publication of an opinion piece, clinical audit, case study or research article.

Organiser of training courses directly relevant to speech and language therapy practice – May involve project management including preparing learning materials and resources and / or teaching and supporting learners and / or planning,delivering and reviewing courses and/or designing, planning, implementing and evaluating courses.

Providing supervision to SLT students

2 . Self-directed learning

Required evidence: you must be able to show evidence that this activity has resulted in new learning and that reflection on the learning has taken place. Participation alone is not sufficient.

Case studies – clinical case presentation

Reflective practice – engaging in structured reflection

Clinical audit

Case/practice discussion with colleagues – aids reflection of practice, develops and affirms knowledge

Peer review, coaching, mentoring

Work Shadowing – learning from more experienced colleagues and / or as part of working in a team and understanding the roles of other team members.

Job rotation / role expansion across different areas of speech and language therapy practice

Journal club – providing or attending journal reviews relevant to the practice of speech and language therapy. Journal articles must be referenced

In-service training – providing or attendance at training relevant to the practice of speech and language therapy

Site visits to liase with other Speech and Language Therapists or professionals relevant to SLT work or planned role.

Critical incident analysis

Reading journal articles/book chapters – must be referenced

Learning through online resources such as HSELanD, forums and online discussion groups.

Writing clinical protocols, policies or procedures manual (Accepted by CORU only). Maintaining CPD portfolio on a regular basis (accepted by CORU only).

Development of information/support resources for service users (accepted by CORU only).

Designing and providing a CPD activity for colleagues.

Sharing information/learning from CPD activities with work colleagues.

Professional reading and study eg CORU website and publications, IASLT publications, journal articles, webinar, online libraries, educational videos.

IASLT members are advised to familiarise themselves with CORU’s CPD requirements for Speech and Language Therapists. It is a member’s responsibility to ensure that they are up to date with requirements at any one time and to ensure that their CPD record reflects CORU’S requirements.

Periods of Leave

IASLT recognises that there may be extenuating circumstances in any one year that may prevent a member achieving their CPD requirements.

• Part – Time workers: Part-time workers must abide by the same CPD requirements as full time
• Return to Full Membership: Some SLT’s may take a break from practising at some point in their careers. SLTs returning to the workplace should commence planning for, engaging in, and recording CPD as required for IASLT Some members of IASLT may choose to remain a member of IASLT even when they are not working. Ongoing membership has advantages in that the therapist can remain up to date with developments within the professional body as well as avail of CPD opportunities as they arise. If you have not practiced for a period of two years or more then you should contact IASLT before renewing membership or return to the practice of the profession. A member should also be aware of CORU’s Return to Practice requirements and should contact CORU for advise.

IASLT carry out a bi-annual audit of the CPD records of 5% of full membership categories. This is completed in order to demonstrate compliance with CPD Standards and to ensure that all members are maintaining and continue to develop a high standard of professional practice.

• The CPD year runs 1^st January until 31^st December (two year cycle). Cycle 1 ends on 31^st December 2017. The next cycle will run from 1^st January 2018 until 31^st December
• 5 % (or a minimum of 30) of full membership categories will be audited at the end of every two year
• Computerised randomised selection is used to select members for
• Members selected for audit will be notified via e-mail in the month of October as the CPD cycle is approaching the end of its second year, at least 6 weeks in advance of the submission
• Members should extract their records from their online CPD Portfolio and email records to pdec@iaslt.ie
• Audit submissions will be accepted from the 1^st
• Given the fact that the audit selection process is randomised the possibility exists that members may be re-audited.
• PDEC will meet in March to review submissions (all submissions will be anonymised by the Chairperson of PDEC).
• Applicants are informed of the outcome of audit by
• Applicants who fail to meet the required standard will be asked to resubmit their logs for
• Applicants will be able to renew their membership as long as they are engaging with the audit
• If in exceptional circumstances a member is unable to submit their portfolio to PDEC then they must make contact by email with PDEC (pdec@iaslt.ie) outlining reasons why their portfolio was not submitted and requesting audit of same.
• If members do not engage in the process or do not respond to attempts by PDEC to contact them their membership may be suspended until they

Audit Criteria

Members should read the IASLT CPD Standards, 2017 in detail prior to completing their online portfolio.

Members should pay particular attention to their learning outcomes and application to practice ensuring that these reflect the fact that new learning has taken place. Engaging in the CPD activity alone is not sufficient it must result in new learning or will not be accepted as CPD.

Outcomes

Once the information supplied has been assessed against the standards, there are three possible outcomes:

1. The information meets the standards and the member will be informed of the successful outcome of the audit within 3 months of submission. Successful members will be eligible to renew their IASLT Membership in the following membership year.
2. The member will be contacted by PDEC to request further information before making a decision. Membership renewal will be pending during this
3. The CPD portfolio is not submitted by the requested date; an email will be sent to the member to request submission of the CPD Portfolio. A member will not be eligible to renew their membership unless the CPD Portfolio has been submitted for audit.
4. The information supplied in the Portfolio does not meet the standards. The applicant will be informed by email of the outcome and reasons by email within 3 months of submission. They will also be asked to resubmit their log for audit. Unsuccessful applicants will not be eligible to renew IASLT membership until their portfolio has been audited and deemed to meet the required

Members will be unable to renew their membership until their portfolio has been audited. If this does not occur there will be a break in membership which will impact on the provision of insurance and letters of good standing.

Appendix 1

Differences between IASLT and CORU CPD Standards