Lifelong learning in occupational therapy refers to the spectrum of learning that occurs from the first instance one considers occupational therapy as a career to one of becoming a student occupational therapist and then on to becoming a practicing occupational therapist. Pre-registration education and continuing professional development (CPD) both fall within this spectrum of learning.
The College of Occupational Therapists has published two documents that you will find useful in your lifelong learning journey. The first is the College of Occupational Therapists: Position Statement on Lifelong Learning (2002) and the second is the Strategic Vision and Action Plan for Lifelong Learning (2004). In addition to these documents, support workers, managers, therapists, educators and other stakeholders of the College will find the National Framework for Support Worker Education and Development (to be published in early 2005) useful for guiding support workers along the lifelong learning journey. A summary leaflet (260KB 
*) of the Framework is available for download now. The Position Statement on Generic Support Workers (2004) is also a very relevant reference.
The College aims to develop a post-qualifying framework for education and development, which will focus on career development and educational opportunities for occupational therapists.
Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
CPD is defined as a range of learning activities undertaken to maintain and develop knowledge and skills for effective and high quality practice. CPD can occur in a formal (e.g. university education), non-formal (e.g. organised educational activity outside the formal system), and informal (day to day learning through life experience) environment (Gopee 2004). CPD should include supervision and appraisal to ensure and enable competent practice.
The College has a long-standing record of supporting members to carry out a process of professional development. Our Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct publication first drew members' attention to their duty to carry out a CPD process in 1995. Since then, the promotion of CPD in the workplace and the emphasis placed on CPD by the Government has meant that many OT staff have access to employment-based CPD facilities. The College's view is that occupational therapists, support workers in occupational therapy, recent graduates, and current students are aware of a requirement for CPD.
The Health Professions Council (HPC) recently completed a number of consultation events across the UK regarding their proposed CPD scheme. The CPD scheme proposes the following:
- Rules for CPD
- Standards of CPD
- A CPD review process (randomised audit of registrants)
- Submission of a CPD profile to the HPC by the registrant (if audited)
The College will be submitting a response to the consultation by the 6 th December 2004. Thank you to those members who provided their feedback on the scheme to the College. Your feedback will be encorporated into the College's response.
Overall, the College finds the HPC's proposed CPD scheme both reasonable and understandable. A few points of clarity could be made within the scheme; however, for the most part the scheme is fine. To fully comprehend COT's stance on the proposed scheme, please review the COT's Response to HPC's CPD Consultation Paper , which will be available online shortly after the 6 th December 2004.
HPC Audit
Many of you may be feeling quite nervous about being audited by the HPC. The College wants to reassure you that you should have nothing to worry about provided you keep up with your CPD and maintain a comprehensive portfolio. For more information about CPD and helpful tools, click on 'CPD Tools' to the left.
Lifelong Learning is the concern and responsibility of all occupational therapy personnel, regardless of employment sector, job role, speciality, or grade. The responsibility for lifelong learning needs to be a conscious commitment to ensuring one has the competency to provided the best care to the service user.
