CPD @ RCOT

Maintaining your Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a standard that HCPC requires you to meet. To demonstrate you meet HCPC CPD standards, the regulator asks you to:

Maintain a record of your CPD activities

• Demonstrate that your CPD includes different types of learning and that it is relevant to current and future practice
• Ensure that your CPD contributes to the quality of your service and practice
• Ensure that your CPD benefits service users
• Submit a written CPD profile upon request.

The Council considers CPD to be many different types of learning.

The HCPC says that “any activity from which you learn or develop professionally can be considered eligible for CPD, though you should ensure that these complement your practice and enhance the service you provide.”

The HCPC’s Continuing Professional Development (CPD) web pages provide a wealth of information on their expectations and requirements. They also provide their own excellent learning materials, including reflection resources, on their Resources web page. Filter for ‘Learning Material’ under Category.

Supporting you with the HCPC CPD audit 

In May 2023 we hosted a webinar for the first time with HCPC – sharing what you need to know about the HCPC CPD audit and getting you prepared. Watch our webinar recording.

We have created some additional resources which will support you for CPD such as:

• Re-registration questions and answers
• HCPC CPD audit questions and answers
• CPD profile questions and answers
• CPD questions and answers
• Useful links to HCPC webpages 

The Career Development Framework helps you to think about your next career steps and to develop as an occupational therapist. It is built upon four interlinked Pillars of Practice, each divided into nine Career Levels. Covering different areas of working life, these Pillars offer a structured framework to guide careers, learning and development.

Download the Career Development Framework

Use the CPD portfolio, included in your membership to make CPD diary entries. Record reflections. It’s designed to help you meet the HCPC CPD standards to improve the quality of your work, service delivery and to benefit the people you work with. 

Why you should use the portfolio 

• It’s easy: 
  • Pick up and put down your recording easily. 
  • You can choose the reflection templates which suit you best. Use it as a single place to record your activities, learning, reflections and evidence.  
  • Your progress is saved and a traffic light system indicates a percentage level of completion for each CPD diary entry you’ve made.  
• Know you’re meeting the HCPC CPD standards – feel as prepared as possible for future CPD audits. 
• The new HCPC registration period and CPD recording cycle started on 1 November 2023 – start good CPD habits and record your CPD regularly. 

A CPD portfolio helps you meet HCPC standards  

Standard 1: Maintaining a list of CPD activities.  

• Adding dated CPD entries and reflections creates a dated list and helps you to meet standard 1. 

Standard 2: Demonstrate that your CPD is a mixture of learning activities relevant to your current or future practice.  

• Every time you add a CPD entry, you’ll choose a CPD type that this fits within. So, at a glance, you’ll be able to see how many CPD activity types you’re carrying out, helping you to meet standard 2.  

Standards 3 and 4: Seek to ensure that your CPD contributes to the quality of your practice and service delivery, and that your CPD benefits the people you work with.  

• Recording CPD entries, reflections and uploading supporting evidence helps you to meet standards 3 and 4.  

Standard 5: If you are selected for the HCPC audit, you’ll need to submit a CPD profile.  

• Keeping all your CPD in one place will make this process much easier. You can: 
  • export your dated list of CPD activities as an attachment 
  • demonstrate you’re carrying out a mixture of learning  
  • write your practice/ work summary and personal statement as you move through this two-year cycle 
  • easy access to any evidence you’ve been keeping, allowing you to choose which bits of evidence you want to include as part of your profile. 

Research and Development Strategy 2019-2024

The Strategy guides RCOT’s current research agenda and sets out RCOT’s vision and aims for research in occupational therapy. Getting familiar with this document will help you understand the importance of engaging in and with research to the profession. 

Career Development Framework: including the Evidence, Research and Development Pillar

To identify the knowledge and skills you already have and what you could learn next, use the Career Development Framework resources tab.  
The Evidence, Research and Development Pillar is particularly relevant, but the other Pillars are important as well. Use the accompanying Career Development Learning Plan to map yourself to your current Career Levels across the Pillars.

Top 10 Research Priorities 

RCOT published the Top 10 Research Priorities for occupational therapy in the UK. Each one is an overarching summary question agreed by occupational therapists, the RCOT, carers and people who access services, with expert guidance from the James Lind Alliance. The research priorities aim to set the agenda for occupational therapy research in the UK.

RCOT Professional Standards for Occupational Therapy Practice, Conduct and Ethics

Section 4 (page 17) of the Professional Standards for Occupational Therapy Practice, Conduct and Ethics specifically covers the responsibilities of occupational therapists engaging with research.  

All other sections of the document are relevant to aspects of research and should be consulted. 

RCOT library 

Access journals, e-books, databases and guidance on how to carry out literature searches. 

• Brief summary and overview of main processes

- Council for Allied Health Professions Research (CAHPR) Top Tips, Series of documents offering advice on key topics for researchers at all levels.

• Literature searches:

- How to search the literature effectively. A step-by-step guide, Health Education England E-Learning for Healthcare 

- Literature searching and referencing, NHS Education for Scotland

• Critical appraisal:

- Critical appraisal techniques for healthcare literature , FutureLearn free online course

- An introduction to critical appraisal, Cochrane Common Mental Disorders. There are six further critical appraisal training videos related to different types of study design.

- CASP Checklists, Critical Appraisal Skills Programme. Eight critical appraisal tools

- Introduction to critical appraisal & CASP, CASP paid for course

- McMasters University Critical Appraisal tools 

• Developing a research proposal:

- Developing Your Research Project, FutureLearn free online course, NIHR (National Institute for Health Research)

- The Research Design Service offers advice for people interested in applying to one of their programmes. 

• Ethics and ethical approval:

- RCOT Research Governance and Ethics Research Guide and Ethics policy applies to projects where the Royal College is the Research Sponsor

- Health Research Authority – Integrated Research Application System (IRAS). IRAS allows a single permission and approvals application for health, social and community care research in the UK. 

• Patient and Public Involvement (PPI):

- INVOLVE, is part of, and funded by, the National Institute for Health Research.  It aims to support active public involvement in NHS, public health and social care research.

- NIHR Resources for applicants to NIHR research programmes

• Research Design Service North East and North Cumbria consumer panel members discuss what makes a good Plain English Summary:

- Watch video

• Writing an abstract:

- Fundamentals of Manuscript Preparation: How to write an abstract and improve your article, Research Academy free online course

- Abstract Writing, Health e-Foundation free online course

• Grant writing skills and funding opportunities:

- Finances and funding | Health Care Research Wales  

- NIHR (National Institute for Health Research)

- Vitae Applying for research funding guide

- Overview of research training/career development awards across the four nations of the UK (available on the RCOT Research and Development webpage)

• Research networking:

- Engaging with your Academic Health Science Networks (AHSN), Council for Allied Health Professions Research (CAHPR) provides advice on reaching out to the 15 AHSNs across England.

- Additionally, CAHPR has over 20 hubs to support AHPs across UK. Choose the one relevant to you.

- Health and Care Research Wales: Identifying Partners and Collaborators

- R&D@RCOT Bulletin RCOT research bulletin for members interested in the topic

• CAHPR - Social Media Top Tips

• Useful social media networks

Occupational Therapy Doctoral Network: @DoctoralOTUK 

Occupational Therapy Research Network (Wales): @ORiENTCymru 

• The Vitae Research Development Framework, a professional development evaluation and planning resource for researchers, and relevant to managers, supervisors or trainers of research.
• National Institute for Health Research Learning and Support, NIHR platform for learning.
• National Institute for Health Research Learning and Support, The NIHR platform for learning.

The Royal College of Occupational Therapists’ annual awards support funding for learning, development and research activities, and offer the opportunity to add to your portfolio in one or more of the four Pillars of Practice in the Career Development Framework (RCOT 2021):

• Professional Practice
• Facilitation of Learning
• Leadership; and Evidence
• Research and Development

Submission date

Applications for the 2024 Annual Awards are now closed

For awards enquires please email us at annualawards@rcot.co.uk.

Eligibility 

The table below breaks down the categories of the Annual Awards and which membership categories are able to apply for them.

2023 Award winners

Thank you to all those members who submitted applications to the 2023 funding opportunities for the RCOT Annual Awards. The following applicants were successful in receiving funding towards their activities:

Constance Owens Early Researcher Award 

•  Tracey Elder 

Constance Owens Liverpool Award

• Bryony Helen Gettins
• Lucie Johnson

Innovation Award

• Sara Thelwell 

International Activity Award

• Natalie Victoria Robertson 
• Elspeth Clark  

Institute of Social Psychiatry Award

• Lucie Johnson 

Pearson Award

• Eve Ovenden

Barbara Tyldesley Student Award 

• Ciara Sherry

The Tunstall Award for Technology Innovation in Occupational Therapy

• Alicia Ridout

Please see below for examples of summary reports completed by previous award winners about their activity/research project:

Before you read our frequently asked questions, please read our guidance notes and check the eligibility table to see which awards you can apply for based on your RCOT membership category. If you are not able to find an answer to your question below, please get in touch by emailing annualawards@rcot.co.uk.  

Who can apply for our awards? 

RCOT members only can apply for awards. We have an eligibility table which outlines the awards you can apply for, based on your RCOT membership category. 

Can I apply for more than one award at the same time?  

Yes, you can apply for more than one award if the applications are for awards in different categories, but you mustn’t duplicate funding requests. If you apply for more than one award for the same activity, the individual applications should ask for support for different elements of the activity.  

I'm looking for funding to support my professional development, which awards can I apply for?  

The Pearson Award and the International Activity Award are the most common ones that members apply for to support their continuing professional development (CPD) activities. However, other award categories may also be relevant. It’s useful to check the eligibility table based on your membership category, the award specific guidance within the guidance document, and the marking schedules for more information. 

We encourage you to consider the potential for learning and professional development across all award categories. The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) state that ‘any project or activity from which you learn or develop professionally’ can count towards your CPD, so it’s important to reflect on the outcomes of your activity or project – how will this impact your practice, service delivery and benefit the occupational therapy community? 

I'm looking for funding to support service evaluation or practice development, which awards can I apply for?  

You might like to consider the following awards which have an innovation focus; RCOT Innovation Award, the Tunstall Award for creative use of technology for independence and care or the Medequip Innovation award for Community Equipment. However, remember that depending on the project or activity you are seeking funding for, other award categories may also be relevant. 

Can I use an award to cover my salary while I’m working on the project/activity?  

No, award funding cannot be used to ‘enhance the applicant’s salary.’ However, funding can be used for backfill, and applicants can use the funding to pay for additional staff to cover their own work whilst undertaking project activities (but not themselves).  

I'm an independent practitioner, can I apply for an award?  

Yes, as an independent practitioner member you can apply for various award categories depending on the type of activity and project that you seek funding towards. We have an eligibility table which outlines the awards you can apply for, based on your RCOT membership category. 

I'm an independent practitioner and run my own business, who can provide supporting evidence for my application?  

Applicants can’t authorise or sign supportive evidence to support their own activity. As an independent practitioner running your own business, you can submit a letter or email of support from a colleague, supervisor or external collaborators to confirm your participation in the activity.  

As an independent practitioner, can I use an award to cover my salary while I’m working on the project/activity?  

No, as above, award funding cannot be used to “enhance the applicant’s salary.” However, funding can be used for backfill, and you can use the funding to pay for additional staff to cover your work whilst undertaking project activities.  

How do I make my application stand out and have a good chance of success?  

Applying for an award is a competitive process. In previous funding rounds, successful applicants paid close attention to the guidance notes and submission criteria; demonstrated the impact of the activity for the people who access occupational therapy services/carers and the profession; and clearly identified benefits to their CPD.  

How are the applications anonymised and assessed?  

All identifying information is redacted from the application prior to sending it for review so we encourage you to use an anonymous writing style (i.e., use terms like “the service, the Trust” rather than the name of your institution/workplace). Once anonymised, the applications are independently reviewed by an external and an internal RCOT assessor. The Annual Awards panel meets in January each year to decide on the funding based on the independent reviews. The panel is chaired by our Chair of Council.