ACEM - CPD Programs

Non-Specialist CPD Procedural Skills

Airway, Breathing, Circulation and Scope of Practice

Specialist CPD Program Procedural Skills

Airway, Breathing, Circulation and Scope of Practice

ACEM CPD Programs are designed to be simple to use, flexible and responsive to your individual needs.

CPD Categories

Five CPD categories apply to both the Specialist CPD Program and the Non-Specialist CPD Program:

Procedural skills
Procedural skills are considered central to the practice of emergency medicine (EM). Both CPD Programs have a requirement for procedural skills maintenance. These are core skills and scope of practice:

Core skills:
- Airway
- Breathing
- Circulation
Scope of practice skills:
- Clinical skills relevant to emergency medicine practice including analgesia, ENT, eyes, fluids, minor surgical, O&G, orthopaedics, toxicology, trauma, ultrasound and urology.

Group Learning

Quality enhancement

Activities in this category are undertaken with the aim of reviewing and improving practice in EM, within an individual, workplace or wider context. A number of activities may be considered as quality enhancement as they ultimately improve systems, processes, procedures and patient care. Examples include audits of medical practice, clinical results review, peer review, peer or professional practice review and site accreditation visits.

Please note: Doctors registered in New Zealand have specific MCNZ requirements which relate to this category. For guidance and advice regarding this, please refer to the MCNZ section.

Activity type	Activities (example)
Accreditation visits for hospitals/ training sites	Observer - Focused ED inspection Observer - routine or new ED Observer - special skills term (non ED) Preparation for site accreditation Site inspector - Focused ED inspection Site inspector - routine or new ED Site inspector - special skills terms (non ED).
Audit of Medical Practice	Clinical Quality Documentation & communication Educational activities Patient Flow Workforce Other.
Clinical results review	Clinical trial Pathology Radiology Ultrasound X-ray.
CPD planning and reflection	CPD Plan preparation CPD Plan review and reflection Goal setting and reflection.
Guideline development and implementation	Clinical practice Management Mentoring program.
Meetings	Critical incident monitoring Hospital committee meeting Medical college committee meeting Mortality and mobility meeting Professional organisation committee meeting Senior ED staff meeting Strategic planning Trauma.
Peer review	360 degree appraisals and feedback Direct observation Multi-source feedback Workplace-based Assessment (WBA) - Assessee.
Peer review of cases	Case-based discussions (CbD) Discussion groupsInter-departmental meetings – case review and interpretation of findings Joint review of cases Mortality and morbidity meetings Peer review of cases - retrospective or active Presenting case for peer review Review of charts Team debrief session.
Professional practice review	Patient feedback and quality improvement Providing feedback to assessee Regular Practice Reviews (RPR) - Reviewee Regular Practice Reviews (RPR) - Reviewer Review doctors’ medico-legal reports Root Cause Analysis Scope of clinical practice review.
Regular practice review	Regular Practice Reviews (RPR) - Reviewee Regular Practice Reviews (RPR) - Reviewer.
Survey completion - participant	Non-ACEM survey.

Self-directed learning

Teaching, research and educational development

Activities in this category are related to education in emergency medicine. This includes a range of activities such as preparing grants, beside teaching and preparation, writing curriculum or literature review. Workplace-based Assessment (WBA) Assessors, Director of Emergency Medicine Training (DEMTs), Clinical Supervisors and Examiners can count many of their ACEM duties towards their CPD. This is in recognition that ACEM roles extend the knowledge and skills of both the individual and the broader EM community. You can find more information in the CPD Program Activities List.

CPD activities (except Procedural Skills) are accrued in hours. Fifty hours is the annual minimum for both Specialist CPD Program and Non-Specialist CPD compliance.

Activity type	Activities (examples)
Assessment and feedback	Direct Observation of Procedural Skills (DOPS) In-training Assessments (ITA) Mini Clinical Exam (Mini CX) Review trainee progress SIMG applicant assessments - Structured Interview panel member Structured Interview Structured References Trainee Learning Needs Analysis (LNA) Trainee Shift Report Workplace-based Assessments (WBAs).
Examination	Invigilator or observer Practice exam Site organiser.
Mentoring	Coordinating a mentoring program Developing a mentoring program Meeting with mentees.
Preparation	Clinical trial Grant application Mentoring program Presentations Proposal Session plans.
Presentation and facilitation	Academic meeting(s) Advanced and Complex Medical Emergencies (ACME) Course - Facilitator Conference(s) EMET teaching Hospital department meeting(s) Training Workshop(s).
Research	Adjudicating Conducting Reviewing Survey development.
Reviewing and editing	ACEM item writing ACEM materials Best of Web EM resources review Examination questions Journal articles Literature review Textbooks.
Teaching	Bedside teaching EM tutorials Ground rounds Teaching preparation.
Writing, editing and refereeing	Curriculum eLearning activities Examination questions Guidelines Journal articles Teaching materials Textbook.

New Zealand practitioners

New Zealand practitioners must also meet the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) standards.

Both programs align with the MCNZ annual requirements for doctors:

One Audit of Medical Practice
10 hours of Peer Review
20 hours of Continuing Medical Education (CME) - a combination of group learning and self-directed learning within the ACEM CPD Programs.

To assist in meeting these requirements, all three MCNZ requirements have set targets within our CPD Programs. CPD certificates can be provided to the MCNZ as evidence you are meeting the recertification requirements.

MCNZ definitions

Audit of Medical Practice (AMP)

A systematic critical analysis of the quality of the doctor’s own practice that is used to improve clinical care and/or health outcomes and/or to confirm that current management is consistent with the current available evidence or accepted consensus guidelines.
Peer review

This is an evaluation of the performance of an individual or group of practitioners by members of the same profession or team. It may be formal or informal and can occur whenever practitioners are learning about their practice with colleagues. Peer review can also occur in multidisciplinary teams when team members who are ‘peers’ or other health professionals give feedback. Formal peer review is an activity where peer(s) systematically review aspects of a doctor’s work. For example, a review of the first six cases seen or a presentation on a given topic. It normally includes feedback, guidance and a critique of the doctor’s performance.
Continuing Medical Education (CME)

This includes attendance at relevant educational conferences, courses and workshops, self-directed learning programs, learning diaries, and journal reading. CME is a a combination of group learning and self-directed learning within the CPD Programs.

Specialist CPD Program

Our Specialist CPD Program encourages specialists to participate in professional development activities that extend their expertise in EM.

How do I apply?
Only non-members of the College need to apply. For information on how to apply, visit the membership page.

The Specialist CPD program intake dates each year are:
- 1 July – for those elected to Fellowship or admitted to membership between 1 January and 30 June
- 1 January – for those elected to Fellowship or admitted to membership between 1 July and 31 December.
Please note, depending on your intake date pro-rata requirements may apply.

Requirements

Non-Specialist CPD Program

The Non-Specialist CPD Program has replaced the Non-Fellow Participant component of the Specialist CPD Program.

The tailored Non-Specialist CPD Program has been developed to meet the needs and reflect the varied practice of non-specialist EM doctors working in the emergency department.

If you are a Certificant, Diplomate, or Educational Affiliate member of the College, the Non-Specialist Program enables you to meet your ACEM Recertification requirements and your commitment to maintaining the highest level of practice in EM.

How do I apply?
Only non-members of the College are eligible to apply. For information on how to apply, visit the membership page.

The Non-Specialist CPD program intake dates each year are:
- 1 July – for those elected to Fellowship or admitted to membership between 1 January and 30 June
- 1 January – for those elected to Fellowship or admitted to membership between 1 July and 31 December.
Please Note: Depending on your intake date pro-rata requirements may apply.

Requirements

Manage your CPD

For information on how to document your CPD activities, visit the Manage your CPD page.

How do I provide feedback?

ACEM encourages feedback on ACEM CPD Programs. To offer suggestions, please contact the CPD unit.

View the full policy the Specialist CPD Program

Specialist CPD Program

View the full policy the Non-Specialist CPD Program

Non-Specialist CPD Program

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Activity type	Activities (examples)
Group discussion participation	Balint group Informal group discussion Journal club.
Lectures, seminars, Grand Rounds attendance etc.	Lectures Seminars Grand Rounds.
Scientific meetings and conferences	Conference Scientific meeting.
Workshops and courses	Clinical supervision Communication skills Cultural competency Health advocacy Leadership and management Medical expertise Mentoring Prioritisation and decision making Procedural skills based workshop/course Professionalism Scholarship & teaching Teamwork and collaboration.

Activity type	Activities (examples)
Formal study	Short course
Online educational activity	ACEM Assessing Cultural Competency modules ACEM Best of Web EM resources ACEM Clinical Teaching Online modules ACEM Critical Care modules ACEM DEMT Orientation Module ACEM Indigenous Health and Cultural Competency (IH&CC) educational resources ACEM Leadership Online modules ACEM Patient Safety Course online modules ACEM Workplace-based Assessment (WBA) modules and resources eLearning module(s) Medical questions (e.g. case scenario, spot diagnosis) Podcast.
Postgraduate	Postgraduate certificate/short course Postgraduate degree (Diploma, Masters, PhD).
Reading	ACEM materials (e.g. guidelines) Article(s) Journal(s) Medical healthcare news articles Medical textbooks Review of literature
Sabbaticals	Sabbaticals