Continuing professional development has become an important and widespread practice in twenty-first-century social work. This volume traces its emergence and evolution, identifying the characteristics of continuing professional development, the barriers to undertaking it, and the way social workers view it. Drawing on an international survey of practitioners and interviews with social workers and their managers, the authors provide unique insight into the possibilities and challenges of continuing professional development for newly qualified and experienced social workers alike.

Therapists must increase their understanding of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to maintain and improve competence. Every practitioner will need to take steps to maintain and demonstrate continued competence under the provisions of the new Health Act 1999. This book considers current policy on CPD and discusses the theoretical basis for maintaining competence and for adult learning. Primarily, however, it provides practical guidance on how to develop a strategy for professional and career development, and on portfolio preparation that shows evidence of professional updating and CPD. Many examples are given of activities in the areas of clinical work, management, education and research that can be used for CPD. The development and use of learning skills such as reflection and critical evaluation is considered central to the process. Written specifically with the therapist in mind, this book will provide invaluable practical advice to occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiographers, speech and language therapists, and podiatrists.

Today in the United States, the professional health workforce is not consistently prepared to provide high quality health care and assure patient safety, even as the nation spends more per capita on health care than any other country. The absence of a comprehensive and well-integrated system of continuing education (CE) in the health professions is an important contributing factor to knowledge and performance deficiencies at the individual and system levels. To be most effective, health professionals at every stage of their careers must continue learning about advances in research and treatment in their fields (and related fields) in order to obtain and maintain up-to-date knowledge and skills in caring for their patients. Many health professionals regularly undertake a variety of efforts to stay up to date, but on a larger scale, the nation's approach to CE for health professionals fails to support the professions in their efforts to achieve and maintain proficiency. Redesigning Continuing Education in the Health Professions illustrates a vision for a better system through a comprehensive approach of continuing professional development, and posits a framework upon which to develop a new, more effective system. The book also offers principles to guide the creation of a national continuing education institute.

All allied health and social care professionals are required to engage in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in order to systematically maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge and skills and so develop the personal qualities and attributes required in their working lives. Extensively updated and revised, this second edition now reflects the latest regulatory requirements of health and social care professionals in the UK, and addresses the needs of health professionals working worldwide, including social workers who are now regulated in the UK by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). In addition, new chapters address the specific needs of support workers and students of the relevant professions. The book discusses the theoretical basis for maintaining competence and offers practical guidance on how to develop a strategy for professional and career development. Ways of developing and maintaining a portfolio and of creating a profile to meet regulatory body requirements are addressed, and there is an emphasis on the development of learning skills, skills of reflection and critical evaluation as central to the CPD process. Attention is given to the specific needs of those professionals working directly with service users in practice, those holding managerial positions, employed in education and undertaking research. The second edition of this practical guide provides invaluable advice for successful continuing professional development for health and social care professionals at all stages of their career. • Provides practical guidance on strategies for lifelong learning and continuing professional development • Addresses the very latest CPD and regulatory requirements for health and social care professionals • Includes specific CPD strategies for students and support workers as well as professionals employed in practice, management, education and research

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the means by which the professions across the world ensure that their knowledge and skills remain up to date and relevant to changing needs and environments. CPD significantly contributes to the quality and reputation of the professions and therefore to the quality of national and international social life and economic well being. Starting with a discussion on what CPD is, the author analyzes how professional bodies govern CPD, what support they provide to individual professionals and how they measure or evaluate what individuals do under the provenance of CPD. Continuing Professional Development explains why, up to now, CPD has been a relatively neglected subject in spite of it being carried out by millions. It argues whether a variety of perspectives or visions of CPD has held back wider public appreciation of it and if greater co-ordination by professional bodies, or the introduction of new players to the field, will change this in the future. Providing the first comprehensive study of the subject, this innovative book will be required reading for CPD professionals and researchers and is a fascinating read for all professionals, especially those involved with human resource development and management / leadership development.

As a region, the Pacific is changing rapidly. This edited collection, the first of its kind, centres Pacific-Indigenous ways of knowing, doing and being in Pacific social work. In so doing, the authors decolonise the dominant western rhetoric that is evident in contemporary social work practice in the region and rejuvenate practice models with evolving Pacific perspectives. Pacific Social Work: • Incorporates Pacific epistemologies and ontologies in social and community work practice, social policy and research • Profiles contemporary Pacific needs – including health, education, environmental, justice and welfare • Demonstrates the application of Pacific-Indigenous knowledges in practice in diverse Pacific contexts • Examines Pacific-Indigenous research approaches to promote inform practice and positive outcomes • Reviews Pacific models of social and community work and their application • Fosters Pacific perspectives for social work and community work education and training in the Pacific region. Pacific Social Work demonstrates the role of social work within societies where social and cultural differences are evident, and practitioners, community groups, researchers, educators, and governments are encouraged to consider the integration between local indigenous and international knowledge and practice. Providing rigorously researched case studies, questions and exercises, this book will be a key learning resource for social work and human and community services students, practitioners, social services managers and policy makers in Australia, New Zealand and various Pacific Island states across the Pacific including Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea.

Continuing professional development (CPD) has become a defining issue in twenty-first century social work. There is widespread consensus in favour of CPD. But what is it? Are there discernible international trends? What are the barriers to participating in CPD? What do social workers think about and want from CPD? This book seeks to answer these questions. Based on a survey and interviews with social work practitioners, CPD in social work offers a unique insight into the possibilities and challenges of CPD and the issues it presents for newly qualified and experienced social workers in practice. Combining the perspectives of social workers and their managers with international research, assures its global appeal. It offers possible directions for the future of post qualifying social work education, making it essential reading for practitioners, educators, managers and policy-makers.