The CPD program is a system of accrediting and acknowledging your continuing post graduate professional training. A Certificate of Currency lets the public, health funds* and professional bodies know that you have undertaken recent educational activities relevant to your work in orthoptics.

A total of 50 points is required to gain a Certificate of Currency, with points to be gained in at least two categories with a maximum of 25 points in any one category. The allocation of points is based on the educational relevance, participation level and time involved in the CPD activity.

*A Certificate of Currency is accepted by a number of health funds as qualification to issue a provider number for private health rebates.

If you have accrued a total of 50 points in at least two categories in the previous two years you can apply for a Certificate of Currency. There is a maximum of 25 points in any one category.

Orthoptists who have graduated in this biennium are eligible for a Certificate of Currency as your degree in Orthoptics is proof of up-to-date professional training. Submit a Claim Form stating the name of your qualification and the date your degree was conferred.

To apply for a Certificate of Currency, download a CPD Claim Form [Word] or [PDF], list each activity undertaken including dates, titles and reference codes and send to the AOB. DO NOT attach receipts or other evidence of attendance but DO keep them on file in case of audit.

Evidence of participation would include documentary proof such as:
Education
- Letter of invitation to present;
- signed diary note;
- acknowledgement of contribution.
Meetings and Conferences
- Receipt showing title and date of activity;
- attendance certificate.
Research
- Copy of publication;
- conference program/transactions
Self Education/Other
- Journal/article titles and subscription;
- copy of title page from audio/visual material;
- print of web page showing date and full web address;
- letter acknowledging clinic visit stating educational purpose and signed by clinician.

Yes and no!

Many activities have already been approved and the list is expanding rapidly. To see if an activity has been accredited, check the Schedule of Accredited Activities.

Journal articles can be self assessed and claimed, although it is possible for the AOB to disallow the points if the article/Journal is not considered to be educationally relevant.

Conferences, meetings and some self education activities (such as web CPD and distance education) require approval. We do not require a lot of information and the form is downloadable.

No, reading relevant professional literature is a Self Accredited activity (Code=S/A) which attracts 1 point per article to a maximum of 3 points per journal.

But if you are in doubt about whether an article will be credited you may choose to submit the journal and article titles plus relevant information in a batch periodically for accreditation.

If you are in doubt about any article/journal you should seek accreditation well in advance of sending in your CPD Claim Form.

a) Yes, if you are each reading the journals you can each claim the points.

b) No, articles from a professionally relevant journal such as this example, do not need to be individually approved. Points are allocated per journal and attract 1 point per article to a maximum of 3 points per journal.

c) Journal subscription should be an example of evidence for verification but just listing the journals you read would be sufficient for this category - assuming the journals are relevant to clinical practice of course!

This could include sitting-in on another orthoptist's clinic if the orthoptist was performing an activity (eg investigative procedure, management technique) that is new to you. For example, you might attend a colleague's clinic to learn how to perform immersion A scans. This would be quite acceptable as a CPD activity (assuming you do not do immersion A scans now!)

The Board is compiling a list of suggested CPD websites and this will be added to over time. If you find a site you think would be eligible for accreditation, submit the web address to the Board for approval and we can also add this to the suggested sites list being developed.

A number of USA hospital sites have CPD questions based on case presentations. For example Richmond Eye Clinic has a clinical page where cases are presented and discussed. This does not require a log in and can be accessed free of charge by any one.

Organizations such as Medscape require subscription but it is free.

More points should be allocated for attending an activity where material is presented by a speaker of high professional standing. The limitation in the current breakdown is that it does not acknowledge Australian expertise and there will always be an issue of what is the difference between a local conference conducted in France (for example) that would be considered international if an Australian attended and the IOA Congress which happened to be located in Australia in 2004.

Conferences can be upgraded and this will be decided when CPD accreditation of the activity is applied for - it is why we want to know what the program is and who the speakers are.

You do not necessarily have to travel overseas to attend an international conference. It is quite possible an organization such as the Lions Eye Institute could host a conference with speakers of sufficient standing to upgrade the points allocation.

There is a list of pre-approved conferences such as the IOA Congress in the Schedule of Activities. All conferences and meetings on the pre-approved list will be accredited and attract the points indicated in the Points Allocation guidelines.

However, it is still necessary for the organiser of pre-approved conferences and meetings to submit an application for accreditation with a copy of the program and detail of the speakers within 3 months of the meeting. This is to ensure (a) the standard of the conference/ meeting is at the expected level, and (b) to permit an upgrade of points in the case of high quality speakers and/or content.

It is easy to check if it has already been accepted as a CPD activity as all activities accredited to date are listed with the Reference Code and Points Allocated. In the case of the 2004 IOA Congress the Reference Code was 2-04_04.

If the conference does not have a Ref number, it may still be claimed by writing "pre-app" as the Reference Code and claiming the number of points indicated in the Points Allocation guidelines. And if you submit the activity with a copy of the program, you may be rewarded with additional points!

Yes, relevant inservice courses count depending on the subject areas, presenters and orthoptic relevance.

Seminars and workshops are likely sources and should be submitted for accreditation if you think the content provides an opportunity to learn in an area relevant to orthoptics.

Yes - activities undertaken before July 2009 cannot be counted toward the next Certificate of Currency, available from July 2011.

CPD is an indication of currency in workplace practice so the Board can only consider activities from the current 2 year cycle.

Activities can be accredited up to 3 months retrospectively so if the activity is not already listed in the Schedule, please submit it for consideration.

If an activity is not on the approved list you can apply to have it recognised and accredited up to 3 months after it has taken place. Download an application form with instructions as to the information required.

Receipts to indicate attendance are only required for verification of attendance and will be requested if you are selected for audit purposes. The conference program will not be enough for audit purposes.

Unfortunately there is a lot of variation between training schools and clinics! As a guide, each student 3 sessions per week counts as 1 placement.

This attracts 5 points per session per student placement, up to a maximum of 20 points.

a) Tertiary study relevant to orthoptic practice (including research degrees) will be accepted as a Self Assessed (S/A) activity.

List the number of semesters enrolled to 30 June and claim 5 points per semester, to a maximum of 20 points. Include relevant information such as institution/topic on your claim form.

b) It is NOT necessary to pre approve Category 4: Self-education Reading Activities where the reading material is directly relevant to your practice.

Registrants record on the CPD Claim Form the details of the journal, ie title, date/volume, name of article/s and author/s then nominate the points to be received. Points are allocated at 1 point per article to a maximum of 3 points per journal.

Accredited Ref No: In the Activity Reference write "S/A" indicating that this is a Self Assessed activity

As this website is already listed on the AOB page the activities are pre approved. Just download the cases as evidence of your activity in case of audit.

If the site is not listed on the AOB website, please forward the web address to the Board so that we can look at the type of activity. If it is approved it is worth 2 points.

Once the Board has seen and approved the type/level of activity the website will be added to our list of approved activities for reference by you and other registrants. Approval of a website only needs to be applied for once in a given CPD period.

Participation in the Continuing Professional Education program is in addition to AOB Registration and is not a requirement of registration. However, since 1 July 2009 a Certificate of Currency is required to obtain a service provider number. If you do not participate there is no penalty and no exemption is necessary.

A Certificate of Currency indicates to employers, the public and other professional bodies that you have kept up to date with professional education and undertaken activities in the previous two years.

The CPD program can be taken up at any time. To qualify for a Certificate of Currency in the current biennium 50 points must be acquired. There is no requirement that points be accumulated across the entire two year period.

If you choose to undertake continuing education, download the CPD Claim form, list your CPD accredited activities and submit it to the AOB.

It is not necessary to accredit a paper published in a refereed scientific journal or recognised conference transactions, but you will need to keep the publication details in case of audit.

You should submit for accreditation if the status of the publication is not certain ie it is not in a recognised scientific journal.

Applications for accreditation must provide sufficient information to assess the CPD activity and demonstrate:
a) that it provides development beyond the competencies required as a beginning practitioner,
b) its relevance to orthoptic practice/knowledge,
c) the participation level required, and
d) the time involved in the activity.

Accreditation can be applied for up to 6 months after the activity date.

Within three months of the activity: You may submit an application for assessment prior to the activity taking place but it must be no later than three months after the activity date.

Check the list of accredited activities - it may be there if someone else has submitted it.

Changes in the Private Health Insurance Act 2007 require a practitioner to be recognized by an accredited body before a Private Health Fund can give a rebate to patients. Orthoptists are covered under a new rule to this Act - Rule 10 – which came into force on 1st July 2009.

Medibank Private has acknowledged the Australian Orthoptic Board as the suitable body to accredit Orthoptists and Registrants who hold a CPD Certificate of Currency are eligible for a health provider number from Medibank Private.

All Private Health Insurers are bound by this legislation and are likely to follow Medibank Private's lead requesting verification of registration and a Certificate of Currency from the Board.

Orthoptists undertake a basic subject in pharmacology. They are expected to understand the mechanisms of action of the classes of drugs used in ophthalmic practice and be aware of the potential side effects and contraindications. They are not qualified to prescribe or dispense medication. So it would depend what your Orthoptist is doing - checking a patient has the correct medication that was prescribed by an ophthalmologist and is taking the dosage as indicated by the ophthalmologist seems reasonable but not to take responsibility for prescribing or altering medication in any way.

The drugs and poisons act or similar in each state specifies requirements to obtain, prescribe, dispense medications. Orthoptists are bound by those Acts.

No. Employers, private health insurance agencies and other government bodies accept the AOB CPD accreditation as evidence of your continuing professional development so the Board cannot accept a reduced number of points.

The number of points - 50 over two years - is quite low and there is a wide range of activities available to you. Orthoptics Australia provides many accredited activities, hospitals and university departments all provide good quality and appropriate CPD activities in addition to journal and internet access.