5 tips for fitting in your CPD as a vet or veterinary nurse
We know how hard it can be to find time for vet CPD courses along with everything else you juggle. Between working a million hours a week, caring for family (human and furry), not to mention eating, sleeping, and maybe even squeezing in some exercise – it can be pretty hard to take your CPD as a vet or nurse. Blink, and you reach December’s deadline with a ‘non-compliant’ note on the RCVS 1-CPD app and the prospect of any time off over the holidays spent frantically taking online CPD. It’s ok, you definitely aren’t alone.
But imagine completing actual CPD courses, rather than last minute free CPD online. Imagine having the time to choose vet CPD that actually contributes to your career development or makes the next year a little easier. Is there a secret to getting it all done? We chatted to real veterinary professionals and put together these tips to help you fit in your CPD – without the last-minute scramble.
Tip #1: Plan your CPD early
One of the best ways to tick off your CPD is to complete a CPD course – whether it’s a practical training session or an online course, aim for something that provides at least 6 hours of CPD on a single topic. Intensive training in a topic is more likely to pay off in terms of remembering skills and techniques and helping you in practice. If you can plan and book your veterinary CPD course in the first quarter of the year, you can get the time booked off work and arrange childcare and anything else you need. You can even pre-emptively add it to the RCVS 1-CPD app, so you can see how it’s contributing to your total CPD goals. To extend your CPD hours claim even further, book a session to feedback what you learned to your colleagues – this counts as CPD too!
Tip #2: Cultivate a “CPD is work” mindset
Less a tip than a mindset, this is just here to remind you that CPD is required for your registration, and therefore you should think of it as part of your job. That means setting time aside for it and accepting it as part of your duties, just as you would phoning clients or washing and sterilising kits. When you accept that taking CPD is work, it becomes easier to fit it in.
Tip #3: Double up duties and take advantage of micro-learning
One excellent way to rack up the hours is to listen to podcasts or other online CPD while you’re doing something else. Maybe when you’re walking the dog, or cooking dinner (but not while driving, as it could be distracting – and indeed should be if you’re concentrating on your learning!). By chipping away at it like this, an hour a week will have you compliant by the end of the year, even if you take some holidays. That said, please do remember to take breaks and protect your mental health. If your dog walk is something you do to relax, make sure you don’t take that away by making it into work. And do remember you need to actively listen to count the podcast as CPD – if you can’t mentally list three things you’ve learned/revised (or can’t remember what the podcast was about!) it doesn’t count. We’ve all done it, but if this happens regularly to you, maybe this type of CPD doesn’t suit you. We all have different learning styles, so it’s best to work with – rather than against – them.
Tip #4: Make time to record everything!
A huge number of things actually count towards the CPD requirements for vets and nurses. Did you scrub in and help an experienced colleague? Or teach the new grad a skill? Participate in rounds or a clinical work meeting? Conduct an audit? As long as you can say what you’ve learned and how it’ll change the way you practice, these all count – so make sure you record them at the time. To make this as easy as possible, get whoever is holding the work meeting to leave 5 minutes at the end for CPD recording and reflection, and remind your colleagues after every opportunity!
Tip #5: Get competitive (or collaborative!)
CPD is much more fun in a crowd. Whether that’s an online crowd (I love the January CPD Club group on Facebook!) or a group of uni friends or work colleagues coming round for a coffee, try taking CPD together. It’s easier to fit it in when it’s a semi-social event and it’s also easier to reflect on your vet CPD afterwards. One vet we spoke to had had great success choosing a clinical topic and getting colleagues to all go away and learn about it, then coming back to discuss it as a group a week later. You can count the hours learning and discussing, so this is a great way to rack up the CPD hours for vets and nurses!
If competition is more your thing, try setting targets and races between colleagues – “I bet you dinner at [insert favourite restaurant] I’ll finish my CPD before you this year!” is a powerful motivator!
Conclusion
Trust us when we say that CPD is a lot less stressful if you’re ahead of the game. Booking CPD courses and putting them into your 1CPD app in advance can really help you see what else you need to do to fulfil your hours, and then you can plan whether to make these up with podcasts, chats with colleagues, and other types of CPD.
That said, if you do find December rapidly approaching and you still aren’t compliant, our on-demand online CPD courses are suitable for vets and nurses and can be a fast way to get your hours ticked off. Alternatively, why not look at our practical CPD courses and see if there’s any running soon that suit you?
If you enjoyed this article, be sure to check out the rest of our CPD support articles in our Content Hub. We think you might like:
Reflecting on your veterinary CPD: tips and prompts to help
How to stay motivated and accountable while taking online CPD
