FOM CPD Scheme
The Faculty encourages all those working within occupational medicine to participate in its CPD scheme. Many consumer groups and many medical bodies – including the Department of Health, the General Medical Council, and the Academy of Royal Medical Colleges, regard CPD as a professional obligation. The Faculty is also committed to the concept of CPD as a means of encouraging and upholding the highest professional standards of knowledge and performance among doctors who practise occupational medicine.
Why should I take part?
Participation is in your own interests for three reasons:
- Shortly you will have to demonstrate currency of professional development to third parties (appraisers and members of revalidation groups) in order to retain medical registration with the General Medical Council.
- Employers are increasingly seeking evidence under systems of clinical governance that their doctors are keeping up to date. A CPD record represents one form of evidence that Faculty members can present for this purpose.
- In addition, participation offers you the opportunity to learn new skills, to reflect on and to improve your practice, and to enrich your professional life.
The Faculty CPD scheme has been updated to make it fit for revalidation by ensuring it conforms to an Academy of Medical Royal Colleges framework for CPD that has been approved by the GMC. The overall requirement for 50 CPD credits (250 in a five year cycle) is unchanged but there is added flexibility in how credits can be accumulated, for example by the addition of a new category of personal CPD.
Participation in the scheme is a benefit of membership for Fellows, Members and Associates and for those who affiliate to the Faculty.
CPD Online Diary
An electronic diary for CPD has been developed and is open to all members to use. The CPD diary makes recording and summarising CPD and reflection more straightforward and will remove the requirement to submit an annual paper summary.
The web address for the Faculty’s online CPD diary is https://portfolio.fom.ac.uk/login
You can request your log in details from: CPD@fom.ac.uk
In the change from paper to online CPD returns, for those who do not wish to transfer immediately, we will continue to accept paper based CPD returns for the next two years. The deadline for the submission of paper returns in both years will be 30 June.
Important – CPD year change, from 2012 onwards
With the introduction of revalidation on the 3rd December, 2012, the Faculty has moved its CPD year to bring it into line with the cycle it uses for revalidation. This coincides with the introduction of the CPD on-line diary. The CPD year will no longer run on calendar years; it will instead run from 1st April to 31st March each year. To implement this change, the current 2012 CPD year is running from 1st January 2012 to 31st March 2013.
CPD returns for this extended CPD year (01/01/2012 – 31/03/2012) must be received by 30 June 2013 to avoid the fee for late submissions. Recommended credits for this extended CPD year should be calculated on a pro-rata basis; the recommended minimum CPD credits for the year will become 62½ CPD points.
Should you have any queries about this amendment to the current CPD year please send your query to CPD@fom.ac.uk.
