The Institute of Biomedical Science

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

The IBMS CPD scheme encourages biomedical scientists to maintain, improve and extend their knowledge, skills and practice for the purpose of maintaining Continuing Professional Development (CPD).

How to join IBMS
The IBMS CPD scheme is a benefit of membership available and free to all its members. If you would like to become a member of the Institute and enjoy this and other benefits of membership then please visit the join page or contact the IBMS office on 020 7713 0214.

How to join CPD
All IBMS members can register on the CPD scheme by downloading the registration form available in the members area and returning it to the CPD department. Registration is free and is an ongoing benefit of Institute membership.
Contact CPD Department

What is continuing professional development?
Continuing professional development (CPD) is a process of lifelong learning, which enables you to expand and fulfil your personal and professional potential, as well as meet the present and future needs of patients and deliver health outcomes and priorities. It assures that you meet the requisite knowledge and skills levels that relate to your evolving scope of professional practice.

What are the Health Professions Council requirements for maintaining your registration?
The Health Professions Council (HPC) has set standards for continuing professional development.  They define CPD as 'a range of learning activities through which health professionals maintain and develop throughout their career to ensure they retain their capacity to practise safely, effectively and legally within their evolving scope of practice'.

All registrants have a professional responsibility to adhere to these standards for CPD, in order to remain on the HPC register and to practice as a biomedical scientist. The standards are as follows:

A registrant must:

1. Maintain a continuous, up-to-date and accurate record of their CPD activities
2. Demonstrate that their CPD activities are a mixture of learning activities relevant to current or future practice
3. Seek to ensure that their CPD has contributed to the quality of their practice and service delivery
4. Seek to ensure that their CPD benefits the service user
5. Present a written profile containing evidence of their CPD on request.

The Institute's CPD scheme encourages participants to fulfil these standards by providing a framework for recording CPD activity and demonstrating the range of activities undertaken.

Reflective statements evidence the benefits of this learning to the practitioner, the service delivery and service user.  The Institute's guidance on reflective statements will support and assist you in the preparation of written profiles for the HPC’s audit process.

How does continuing professional development benefit you?
The Institute’s CPD scheme offers you the chance to reflect on and shape your learning and development, not only for the present but also for any future progression.

There are many benefits of lifelong learning with the scheme and some examples are highlighted below:

• Broadening your knowledge base and acquiring new skills for safe and effective practice
• Supporting renewal of your registration with the HPC
• Encouraging reflective practice
• Increasing your job satisfaction by promotion of professional ideas and new initiatives
• Enhancing your curriculum vitae
• Providing a benchmark for your performance appraisal.

When recruiting staff, one of the selection criteria employers may adopt is a demonstration of active involvement in CPD.  An up-to-date portfolio is an excellent way for you to demonstrate this.

How does continuing professional development assist you in becoming a Chartered Scientist?
You are eligible for Chartered Scientist (CSci) status as a Fellow or Member of the Institute holding the stipulated duration of corporate membership, a Masters level qualification and participation in the Institute's CPD scheme.

Chartered Scientists are qualified scientists who are practising at the highest professional level.  As an IBMS CPD registered Chartered biomedical scientist, you are able to demonstrate your commitment to improving standards and applying best practice at an advanced level of scientific knowledge as essential components of your professional role.

Your active participation in the Institute’s CPD scheme ensures that you have a means of recording your professional activities and achievements in a concrete way in order to demonstrate the level of professional competence required by The Science Council.

Further information is available from our Chartered Scientist department.

How does continuing professional development aid your personal development plan?
It is a government requirement that all healthcare professionals have in place a personal development plan (PDP).

PDP activities may be directly linked to your day-to-day practice (eg laboratory based, management, educational), with much of the training requiring 'end tests' to assess and certify capabilities.

This approach is likely to meet the:

• Employer's needs in defining what is expected of you to meet the needs of the patient/service
• Requirements for your continued registration with the HPC
• Competency requirements for fulfilling the National Occupational Standards (NOS), Knowledge and Skills Framework (KSF) and Agenda for Change (AfC) gateways.

How does continuing professional development benefit the patient?
CPD is crucial in delivering the best service and using it to the maximum benefit of the patients – providing support and proof of clinical governance.

By adopting a lifelong learning approach through the scheme, you can ensure that your knowledge and skills keep pace with new thinking and techniques.

This will in turn inspire public confidence in the service that the profession delivers.

How does continuing professional development benefit your employer?
Staff who are able to shape their own learning and professional development can bring new skills and ideas into the work place.

The most obvious benefits for employers and organisations that actively encourage participation in CPD are:

• Maintaining an up-to-date competent workforce
• Attracting confidence of service users by providing evidence of up-to-date practice
• Aiding staff recruitment and retention
• Meeting Clinical Pathology Accreditation (CPA) (UK) Ltd requirements
• Providing evidence of standards attained by employees
• Increasing teamwork by promoting discussion with peers and by sharing good laboratory practice
• Improving delivery of services and care.

Further information is available in the CPD portfolio or by contacting the CPD Department.

CPD Centre (members only)

More information about CPD is available in the CPD section in the members' area.