Manage your CPD

We conduct CPD programs in accordance with the requirements for accreditation by the Australian Medical Council (AMC) and the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ), as a specialist medical college. In accordance with the requirements of the regulatory authorities, we audit a percentage of CPD records each year.

Full details regarding audit selection, documentation and certification are provided in the Policy on CPD Compliance Audit.

We conduct annual audits of CPD records to demonstrate our commitment to:

• Exemplary standards of practice in emergency medicine (EM) through CPD
• Compliance of ACEM Fellows and non-specialists practising in EM with the requirements of the CPD programs and the bi-national medical registration authorities
• Strength and integrity of the ACEM CPD programs.

Selection for audit

Following the close of each CPD year or cycle, five per cent of all CPD participants will be selected to undergo the compliance audit in respect of that year, or cycle.

Immunity from audit

If you pass the compliance audit of a CPD year shall not be randomly selected for audit more than once during the relevant three-year CPD cycle.

If you pass the cycle compliance audit you will be exempt from random audit selection in the first year of the following cycle.

Notification of selection

You will be notified in writing that you have been selected for audit. You are required to submit your audit return within the set timeframe. In extenuating circumstances, an extension of time may be granted upon written request.

Extenuating Circumstances

Applications for extension of time, deferral or waiver, may be granted under the provisions of the College’s Exceptional Circumstances and Special Consideration Policy. Applications will be considered by the Chair of the CPD Committee and applicants notified of the outcome as soon as practicable.

Acknowledgement of compliance

A CPD Compliance Certificate will be available to you via My ACEM upon passing a compliance audit. 

Recording

As part of the CPD program, you are required to record your CPD activity, which is carried out on the My ACEM and includes:

• Plan your CPD
• Record your activities
• Review your CPD
• Monitor your progress.

Documenting

It is expected that you will have retained evidence of activities entered into your CPD online record for at least three years and can comply with an audit.

A number of guides and templates are available to assist you to complete your CPD record. These include:

Documenting your evidence

• How to record My CPD Activities
• How to monitor My CPD Activities
• Evidence of My CPD Activities
• How to prepare My CPD Audit Submission

Peer review

• Direct Observation Peer Review form
• Team Activity Peer Review form

Audit of medical practice

• Guidelines for documenting an Audit of Medical Practice
• ACEM Audit of Medical Practice record form

Procedural skills

• Procedural Skills Letter template
• CPD Participants Skill Suggestion form

Personal circumstances affecting your capacity to undertake the CPD program may warrant a full or partial exemption from a CPD Program.

Grounds for exemption

• Not practicing for the duration of the exemption period (six or 12 months)
• No longer in clinical practice
• CPD compliance with another program, deemed to be substantially equivalent to the ACEM CPD Program.

Before applying for an exemption read the Policy on Re-entry to Practice following a Period of Absence. The requirements of this policy align with the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) ‘Recency of Practice Standard’ and the Medical Board of New Zealand (MCNZ) ‘Policy on doctors returning to medical practice after an absence from practice for three years or more’.

ACEM International Equivalent CPD Exemption

The ACEM International Equivalent CPD exemption is now available for Fellows participating in the Specialist CPD Program:

• who are not registered to practice in Australasia, and
• currently practising in:
  • USA and participating in US ABEM MOC program
  • Ireland and participating in RICS EM CPD program, or
  • Canada and participating in RCPC MOC program. 

These International CPD programs have been assessed and approved by the ACEM CPD Committee as substantially equivalent to the ACEM Specialist CPD Program on the condition that the following specific ACEM requirements are met: 

1. Submission of evidence of compliance with [ABEM MOC/RCSI/RCPC MOC] CPD program prior to 30 June for the relevant CPD year and the application for Exemption from the ACEM Specialist CPD program at the beginning of each CPD year,
2. Compliance with the additional specific requirements within the ACEM Specialist CPD Program:

	ABEM MOC (USA)	RCIS (Ireland)	RCPC MOC (Canada)
Annual minimum requirements (1/7 to 30/6 each year	1 airway, 1 breathing and 1 circulation procedural skills by performance, supervision or teaching	1 airway, 1 breathing and 1 circulation procedural skills by performance, supervision or teaching	1 airway, 1 breathing and 1 circulation procedural skills by performance, supervision or teaching
	1 goal and reflection	1 goal and reflection
Cycle minimum requirements(1/7/2017 to 30/6/2020)	12 scope of practice procedural skills by performance, supervision or teaching	12 scope of practice procedural skills by performance, supervision or teaching	12 scope of practice procedural skills by performance, supervision or teaching
	1 airway, 1 breathing and 1 circulation procedural skills by performance	1 airway, 1 breathing and 1 circulation procedural skills by performance	1 airway, 1 breathing and 1 circulation procedural skills by performance
	30 hours of Quality Enhancement CPD Activities 1 Cultural Competency Component	1 Cultural Competency Component	1 Cultural Competency Component

Application is via the ACEM CPD online exemption form.

Any Fellows, who are not registered to practice in Australasia, and currently practising and participating in another country and their CPD program are invited to apply to have their overseas CPD program assessed for substantial equivalence to the ACEM Specialist CPD program.

From time to time a member may be identified to be performing poorly in their role as an EM practitioner. A program of remedial management is required for members who are identified as performing poorly in their role as an EM practitioner.

The policy for managing remediation and the poorly performing practitioner provides:

• Collegiate support for the poorly performing practitioner
• A process for improving the clinical skills of the member to the standard expected, under an appropriate degree of supervision
• A process to assess that the required standard has been achieved
• A process to report on the successful completion or otherwise of this process to appropriate parties including the practitioner, the referring body, the ACEM CPD Committee and Council of Education (COE).

Full details are outlined in the relevant CPD Participation Policy:

• Specialist CPD Program Policy
• Non-Specialist CPD Program Policy

Please contact the CPD Unit on [email protected] for further information regarding the policy and procedure relating to remediation.

To return to clinical practice from a prolonged absence, as defined by the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) and the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) or from retirement, you must make an application to the Chair of the CPD Committee.

What do I need to do?

Send a letter addressed to the Chair of the CPD Committee, enclosing your completed CPD Plan and Re-entry to Practice Form to 34 Jeffcott St, West Melbourne, VIC 3003 AUSTRALIA or by email.

What are my re-entry requirements?

All members returning to practice and resuming CPD shall determine their re-entry requirements based on the MBA and MCNZ requirements.

If in Australia, you must submit the Australian CPD Re-entry to Practice Cover Page and the MBA Plan for CPD and Re-entry. If you are in New Zealand, you must complete the Plan for CPD and Re-Entry to Practice form - MCNZ.

For more information on re-entry to practice, visit Policy on Re-entry to Practice following a Period of Absence.