Timeframe for review:                 Every two years, or earlier if required

Document authorisation:            Council of Education

Document implementation:        Executive Director Education

Document maintenance:             General Manager, Governance and Standards

The Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM; the College) provides a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program to ensure medical practitioners practising in the field of emergency medicine maintain and improve their knowledge and skills as applicable to their scope and fields of practice across their professional career. The ACEM CPD Program is designed to meet the requirements of the Medical Board of Australia (MBA) and the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) and enables participants to meet the Standards for continuing medical registration and recertification in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.

The purpose of this document is to outline the CPD recording arrangements for ACEM CPD Program participants who complete some CPD in other (external) CPD Programs (such as FACEMs who hold Fellowship with another specialist medical college(s) in Australia and/or Aotearoa New Zealand).

ACEM; the College

means the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine.

College Member

means a person admitted as a member of the College pursuant to the provisions of the ACEM Constitution and associated regulations.

Governing Body

means the ACEM Board, the Council of Advocacy, Practice and Partnerships (CAPP), or the Council of Education (COE).

CPD Year

 means the 12-month period starting on 1 January and ending on 31 December.

Participant

means any person participating in the ACEM CPD Program

Practice, clinical practice and non-clinical practice have the same meanings as those given by the MBA or the MCNZ, according to the appropriate jurisdiction

Recording Period means the CPD Year and a one-month period immediately following the end of the CPD Year to which the participation in approved CPD activities can be recorded by participants.

3.1 In recognition of ACEM CPD Program participants who participate in more than one (1) CPD program, the following applies to dual and other fellowship/program participants when entering CPD records in the My ACEM CPD portal. ACEM CPD Program Requirements

All ACEM CPD Program participants registered to practice in Australia and Aoteaora New Zealand must meet all requirements of the ACEM CPD Program.: 

(a) FACEM participants

To meet the requirements of the ACEM CPD Program, FACEM participants are required to complete the following (or pro-rata for mid-year enrolment dates) during each CPD Year:

• a minimum of 50 hours[1] of approved CPD activities as follows:
  • a minimum of 12.5 hours of Educational Activities
  • a minimum of 25 hours of Reviewing Performance and Measuring Outcomes activities, with
    • a minimum of five (5) hours of Reviewing Performance activities
    • a minimum of five (5) hours of Measuring Outcomes activities
  • remaining 12.5 hours can be in any of the above CPD categories
• a minimum of one (1)* High Level Requirement procedural skill undertaken by performance, teaching or supervision, from each of the core procedural skill activity types (may be conducted in a clinical or simulated setting):
  • airway
  • breathing
  • circulation
• a minimum of four (4) different Essential Emergency Medicine Procedural Skills undertaken by performance, teaching or supervision conducted in a clinical or simulated setting
• One (1) Professional Development Plan (PDP) and associated reflection
• A minimum of one (1) Cultural Safety activity and associated reflection
• for participants registered to practice in Aotearoa New Zealand (in accordance with MCNZ requirements) one (1) annual conversation
• Other College High Level Requirements where applicable (in accordance with other specialist medical college requirements – annual or cycle)

(b) Other ACEM member participants

To meet the requirements of the ACEM CPD Program, ACEM Certificants, Diplomates, Advanced Diplomates and Educational Affiliate participants are required to complete the following (or pro-rata for mid-year enrolment dates) each CPD Year:

• a minimum of 50 hours[2] of approved CPD activities to be completed as follows:
  • a minimum of 12.5 hours of Educational Activities
  • a minimum of 25 hours of Reviewing Performance and Measuring Outcomes activities, with
    • a minimum of five (5) hours of Reviewing Performance activities
    • a minimum of five (5) hours of Measuring Outcomes activities
• remaining 12.5 hours can be in any of the above CPD categories
  • a minimum of four (4) different Essential Emergency Medicine Procedural Skills undertaken by performance, teaching or supervision conducted in a clinical or simulated setting
  • One (1) Professional Development Plan (PDP) and associated reflection
  • A minimum of one (1) Cultural Safety activity and associated reflection of the activity reflection
  • for participants registered to practice in Aotearoa New Zealand (in accordance with MCNZ requirements) one (1) annual conversation
  • Other College High Level Requirements where applicable (in accordance with other College requirements – annual or cycle)

(c) Non-ACEM member participants

To meet the requirements of the ACEM CPD Program, non-ACEM member participants are required to complete the following (or pro-rata for mid year enrolment dates) each CPD Year:

• a minimum of 50 hours[3] of approved CPD activities to be completed as follows:
  • a minimum of 12.5 hours of Educational Activities
  • a minimum of 25 hours of Reviewing Performance and Measuring Outcomes activities, with
    • a minimum of five (5) hours of Reviewing Performance activities
    • a minimum of five (5) hours of Measuring Outcomes activities
  • remaining 12.5 hours can be in any of the above CPD categories
• One (1) Professional Development Plan (PDP) and associated reflection
• A minimum of one (1) Cultural Safety activity and associated reflection of the activity reflection
• for participants registered to practice in Aotearoa New Zealand (in accordance with MCNZ requirements) one (1) annual conversation
• Other College High Level Requirements where applicable (in accordance with other College requirements – annual or cycle)

3.2 Recording Requirements

All participants are required to maintain an online record of their CPD activity in the My ACEM CPD portal.  All activities must be recorded by the close of the relevant Recording Period.

3.3 Cultural Safety

Cultural Safety activity recorded for another specialist medical college, and subsequently uploaded to the My ACEM CPD portal, will generally be accepted as meeting the ACEM Cultural Safety activity requirement.

3.4 Professional Development Plan

Subject to it being relevant to the scope of practice of emergency medicine, a Professional Development Plan (PDP) recorded for another specialist medical college, and subsequently uploaded to the My ACEM CPD portal, will generally be accepted as meeting the ACEM PDP requirement.

3.5 Educational Activity

The ACEM CPD Program recognises Educational Activities that have a demonstrable link to one or more components of the broad scope of practice of emergency medicine. Activities completed in other CPD programs that have an emergency medicine scope of practice that are entered in to the My ACEM CPD portal will, subject to satisfactory review, be accepted and will count toward the required hours in the Educational Activities category.

3.6 Reviewing Performance

Activities in the Reviewing Performance category focus on the clinician rather than the scope of practice, therefore activities in this category completed for another specialist medical college CPD program will generally be accepted as relevant for the ACEM CPD Program. Where applicable, such activities entered in to the My ACEM CPD portal will count towards the required hours in the Reviewing Performance activities category.

3.7 Measuring Outcomes

Activities in the Measuring Outcomes category are largely methodology and process focused, and therefore activities in this category completed for another specialist medical college CPD program will generally be accepted as relevant for the ACEM CPD Program. Where applicable, such activities entered in to the My ACEM CPD portal will count towards the required hours in the Measuring Outcomes activities category.

3.8 Procedural Skills

ACEM CPD participants who record Procedural Skills in another specialist medical college CPD program may re-enter these skills in the My ACEM CPD portal and, subject to their inclusion also on the ACEM Procedural Skills List, they shall count towards meeting the relevant ACEM CPD procedural skills requirement.

ACEM has established and conducts its CPD Program to ensure medical practitioners practising in the field of emergency medicine maintain and improve their knowledge and skills as applicable to their professional practice.  Further information in relation to this expectation is detailed in the CPD Audit Compliance Policy (CPD600). [4]

ACEM CPD participants who complete activities or procedural skills in another specialist medical college CPD program and re-enter them as part of their ACEM CPD requirement must retain suitable evidence of their completion and provide this evidence if selected for audit in the ACEM CPD Program. Information on this requirement is detailed in the ACEM CPD Provision of Evidence Guideline (CPD639).

In the event that recorded educational activities do not adequately relate to the scope of practice of emergency medicine, ACEM CPD Program participants will be offered an opportunity to enter relevant substitute activities and have these considered as part of the activity requirement.