This guideline outlines the appropriate standard expected of a registered veterinary practitioner in the course of veterinary practice. It should be read in conjunction with other related guidelines.
Context to Guideline 10: Continuing professional development (CPD)
Continuing professional development (CPD) is an essential part of a profession’s activities. CPD provides assurance to the general public and professional peers that registered veterinary practitioners are continually updating and improving their skills.
Career-based CPD improves service provision directly and indirectly through positively impacting workplace culture. CPD provides an opportunity for a veterinary practitioner to pursue a balance of technical and personal knowledge, skills and capabilities. Diverse opportunities for CPD exist, for example in ethics and professional governance, acquisition of scientific knowledge or technical skills, leadership and practice management skills, communication or regulatory update.
Continuing development strengthens the collaboration between the veterinary practitioner, the veterinary team and an owner in the delivery of contemporary veterinary services to a standard expected by the public and professional peers.
The Board requires all registered veterinary practitioners to undertake CPD as a condition of their registration.
A veterinary practitioner retains evidence of their CPD in a form that clearly outlines the intended improvement to their skills and knowledge once completed.
A veterinary practitioner can ask the Board to evaluate whether proposed CPD would qualify as a structured or unstructured units under CPD requirements.
CPD points allocation
The Board requires veterinary practitioners registered in Victoria to undertake a minimum of 60 points of CPD points over a rolling three-year cycle, at least 15 of which must be structured points. When a practitioner renews their registration, they are asked to declare whether they have fulfilled their professional obligations in relation to CPD. Currently, practitioners registered in Victoria are not required to submit CPD records to the Board though CPD records must be retained for at least three years from date of completion.
CPD records should include the CPD date, name and type of activity, field of learning, specific learning or development achieved, points accrued and validation documents. Vets may use the Board's record template (Vetboard Victoria CPD Record form) or use their own record system, e.g. an Excel spreadsheet.
This material is current only at the time of publication and may be changed from time to time. The Board reviews and updates the Guidelines on a continuous basis to reflect changes in the science and knowledge base underpinning contemporary veterinary practice. The Board will take reasonable steps to inform the veterinary profession when such updates are released but it remains the responsibility of the individual veterinary practitioner to ensure that their knowledge and application of these Guidelines to their own practice is current.
While the Board has made every effort to ensure that the material in these Guidelines is correct in law, it shall not be liable to any veterinary practitioner or any other person or entity in relation to any claim, action or proceeding whatsoever (whether in contract, negligence or other tort or in proceedings seeking any other form of legal or equitable remedy or relief) for any inadequacy, error or mistake, or for any deficiency in the whole or any part of this document (including any updates incorporated in the document from time to time). A veterinary practitioner or any other person or entity acting upon the contents of this document acknowledges and accepts that this is the basis upon which the Board has produced these Guidelines and made them available to such person or entity.