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Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

As a social care worker, it is important to carry out further training and qualifications. Continuing professional development (CPD) is a record of your learning, development and achievement. Your line manager will help you complete your CPD Record of Learning, Development & Achievement at supervision.

Reasons why continued professional development is important for your Role:

  • Social care work is about people it is not about inanimate objects or mass production; what needs to be learned is open ended. E.g. we are not learning a single or simple skill to produce identical products on a production line but responding to unique circumstances and individual need.
  • In the light of research and progress some practices which might be seen as suitable today may no longer be seen to be suitable at a future date.
  • Those working in health and social care and support roles need to strive to achieve excellence, this means that no matter how well they feel they are working, there is still room for improvement. (A value of health and social care is to achieve excellence and not to let service users down).
  • Health and social care is set in a legal framework. The law changes and with it so do regulations and the way in which we should carry out our work.
  • The people to whom we provide services deserve nothing less than a response which is up-to-date and safe. We have a duty to ensure this and that the information we give to them is accurate.
  • It keeps individual workers motivated. (There is evidence to show that it increases job satisfaction and staff retention).
  • It improves the quality of the service.
  • It enables those working in health and social care to adapt to change. It prevents people from becoming entrenched and enables them to keep abreast of change and to embrace it rather than resist it.
  • Research has shown that in health and social care and support organisation it raises the quality of care It supports a positive work culture which values the application of learning and knowledge and expertise.
  • Continuous learning and development enables standards to be achieved.
  • It enables people to revaluate their skills, knowledge and understanding and encourages reflective practice.
  • It is based on SMART targets and is outcomes focused.
  • It enables people to progress through a career structure and/or to higher education and to transfer their skills and knowledge to other settings.
  • It is a requirement of bodies which regulate professions.
  • Learning and development takes place on an ongoing basis. What you have learned needs to be applied to your practice on an ongoing basis.
  • Continuous learning and development enables people to have feedback on their practice on an ongoing basis and to identify where they need to change and improve and where they are doing well.
  • It enables team and organisational objectives to be met by each individual worker.

Use to answer question 2.2i of the Care Certificate

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