CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT (CPD)

It is in the interest of patients, that a doctor should continually update himself and improve his medical knowledge and skills so much so that his practice of medicine is always safe. An amendment to section 30 of the Medical Council Act to provide for relicensing refers

1. Section 30 of the Medical Council Act has been amended to provide for relicensing of a general practitioner or a specialist on a yearly basis after taking into consideration the number of credit points the medical practitioner has “earned” by following “Continuing Professional Development Courses or Training Programmes”.
2. Each individual practitioner is under the obligation to earn a minimum of 12 CPD credit points for the purpose of relicensing on a yearly basis.
3. The amendments to the Medical Council Act have empowered the Medical Council to assume its responsibility as a Regulator of the medical profession – hence limiting the increasing number of cases of medical negligence, malpractice etc that are referred to the Council for investigation. Often the medical negligence/malpractice committed is a consequence of absence of regular updates in medicine which each doctor should be involved in.
4. Since 11 November 2017, the Medical Council had organised 16 CPD events in its Conference Hall. A minimum of 4 lectures were delivered per event. Some 200 medical practitioners attended the event. The objectives behind delivering these lectures were to encourage medical practitioners to participate and contribute in the dissemination of medical education.
5. A Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) was prepared by Council concerning the implementation of CPD requirement in the year 2017. The Standard Operating Procedures is still valid. Click here to view the SOP.
6. The Medical Council have as at date approved 72 CPD providers and some 455 medical practitioners have been given recognition as speakers to deliver lectures. The Medical Council has been very cautious while scrutinising the applications made by pharmaceutical companies to become CPD providers. There was a known risk of such companies using the CPD platform to conduct marketing exercise for pharmaceutical products.
7. The CPD providers and the medical profession have been informed about the objective behind a CPD programme. The objectives as elaborated by the Medical Council are reproduced below:
   • To ensure that learning becomes conscious and proactive rather than passive and reactive.
   • To help doctors maintain a professional quality of care given to patients and public as they meet the changing needs and new challenges in health care delivery
   • To ensure that qualifications in medicine acquired do not become outdated or obsolete; but instead allow doctors to continually “up skill” or “re skill” themselves.
   • To help doctors become better professionals and therefore enable them to achieve their career aspirations.
   • To safeguard the public, the employer, the professional and the professional’s career.
8. All interested institutions/associations/persons who have obtained approval of the Medical Council to become CPD providers are expected to submit a list of CPD’s they intend to conduct for the 3 months. These are scrutinized by a subcommittee of Council (CPD Committee) and approval given. The CPD event conducted will enable the participant and the lecturer to obtain CPD credit point. The points allocated are transmitted to the Medical Council for records and a decision on the eventual relicensing of the medical practitioner the following year.
9. Medical practitioners wishing to be an approved speaker have to submit an application to the Medical Council for consideration and/or approval.Click here to download the application form.
10. Responsible officer of an institution (hospital/clinics/medical associations/universities) wishing to be recognised as an approved CPD Provider have to submit an application to the Medical Council for consideration and/or approval. Click here to download the application form.
11. In the context of Covid -19, for the year 2021 all medical practitioners are exempted from the requirement of CPD.

Click here to download event CPD form

Click here to download the Medical Council(Continuing Professional Development Programme)Regulations 2016

Click here to download the Medical Council(CPD Programme)Regulations 2017

Click here to download the Medical Council(CPD Programme)Regulations 2019

Click here to download the Medical Council(CPD Programme)Regulations 2020

Click here to download communique on less than 1 hour not approved

Click here to download communique on online courses