What do Nurses, Midwives and all other Health professionals have in common?
Answer: We all need to undertake continuing professional education!!!
As the need for continued education and training continues to impact registration requirements for Australian nurses and midwives, education providers are tackling the challenge head on.
Such is the case with The University of Queensland School of Nursing and Midwifery.
Responding to recent legislative changes requiring all nurses and midwives to engage in a minimum of 20 hours of Continuing Professional Development each year; in late 2011 the School launched the first in a series of professional development workshops for health professionals.
What is your immediate reaction? Do you believe it’s part of your professional obligation? Or do you feel stress? Boredom? Are you ambivalent? Whatever your reaction, CPD is here to stay! And guess what, at the University of Queensland there is a vast array of CPD activities that will meet your needs for mandatory professional education. We even offer a course that shows you how to turn all your learning activities into CPD hours, some activities do not require you to leave your own home!
UQ courses cater for all levels of nurses and midwives. Are you a good solid clinical nurse wanting to develop or refresh a practical skill? We have courses that meet this requirement.
Are you an academic or research focused nurse or midwife? We have courses for you too. In fact we offer courses to meet all needs. To browse our course selection or register for a course visit http://www.nursing-midwifery.uq.edu.au/cpd.
Still not sure about the benefits of CPD?
The new University of Queensland CPD courses and workshops are designed to enhance the existing skill set of health professionals, which will positively contribute to the continued improvement of patient care. As the demand for health professionals continues to increase, the supplementary knowledge gained through CPD participation will benefit both the patient and the health worker in the longer term.
What gives The University of Queensland CPD and edge in the market?
The School has also become an accredited APEC provider and is authorised to endorse CPD courses on behalf of the Royal College of Nursing, Australia (RCNA) and to display its logo on our course promotional materials. The RCNA also lists the School’s courses on their official website.
Additionally, several external health service providers (from both the public and private sectors) have commissioned the School to provide their in-house staff development, thus placing The University of Queensland School of Nursing and Midwifery firmly in the market as a commercial provider of education. According to Acting Head of School Associate Professor Fiona Bogossian, providing quality CPD programs for nurses and midwives is an important priority.
“At the UQ School of Nursing and Midwifery we are aware of the importance of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for health care professionals,” Associate Professor Fiona Bogossian said.
Would UQ CPD courses suit me?
In every course, participants are asked to nominate courses they would like to see offered – the School is already responding by establishing courses to meet the feedback and demand from industry and health care providers. Our “responsiveness” to market demands positions the School as a preferred education provider. To view our list of current courses or provide feedback on courses you would like, visit http://www.nursing-midwifery.uq.edu.au/cpd.
Did you know all courses include gourmet catering as well as a UQ pack?
Our philosophy is that CPD should be as much about enjoyment as it is about learning, and gaining mandatory education hours. All courses are catered with high quality food and refreshments and are held in beautiful surroundings and modern teaching facilities. Come and taste the university life!
What does the future hold for the University of Queensland’s CPD programs?
In addition to expanding our current CPD program, we are currently working towards offering most of our courses online. Those activities that require supervised skills such as cannulation, phlebotomy and perineal repair will remain as small group face to face workshops.
Our CPD programs will continue to cater for health professionals including but not limited to registered or enrolled nurses, nurse practitioners, registered and eligible midwives.
Media Contact
Lya McTaggart
07 3365 5084
lya.mctaggart@uq.edu.au
