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on experience
• It can help us become reflective practitioners. Sometimes making mistakes can be
a great way of learning (even if it is painful at the time!). It is good to be able to
process both things that have gone well, and also things that have not worked.
• CPD makes us better practitioners, providing a better service to our clients.
HOW DO I START?
Many professionals will have a format that they will follow as part of their
membership of a professional body. Some workplaces will also have templates that
can support recording of CPD. But you do not have to have a formal template to get
started. As long as you follow these steps you can begin your CPD record:
1 RECORD YOUR LEARNING
Think about any learning experiences you have had in the last year, and provide
a written record that reviews and reflects upon their impact, including what and
how you learned from them. This could include formal training, or informal
learning which may be gained from:
• observing or discussing cases with colleagues
• attending team meetings
• reading articles, books, or blogs
• learning that has taken place in supervision or mentoring
• learning that has taken place if you have taken up a new role or activity
• learning from a situation that has not gone according to plan
2 RECORD WHERE YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE
Think about the direction you would like to take over the next one, three and five
years. This could be about gaining employment if you are a volunteer, getting a
promotion, developing a specialism, or deepening a skill in your current role.
3 RECORD WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO GET THERE
This may be taking on some formal training, or gaining more experience at work in
a specific area. Or it may be as simple as discussing the next steps in supervision.
4 REVIEW YOUR PROGRESS
Set a date for when you will review the goals you have set yourself. This could be
every month, three months, six months or every year. It will often depend upon
what stage you are at in your working life.
SUMMARY: KEY FEATURES OF CPD
• DRIVEN BY YOU (SELF DIRECTED) AND NOT YOUR EMPLOYER
• RECORDED – ELECTRONICALLY AND/OR IN A PAPER FOLDER
• INCLUDE LEARNING GAINED FROM FORMAL TRAINING AND FROM INFORMAL
EXPERIENCES
• BE REFLECTIVE – NOT SIMPLY A LIST OF TRAINING COURSES YOU HAVE
COMPLETED/ MEETINGS YOU HAVE ATTENDED, BUT DESCRIBE WHAT YOU HAVE
LEARNED, AND HOW YOU WILL APPLY IT IN THE FUTURE
• FOCUS ON THE LEARNING PROCESS AND NOT SIMPLY THE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS
AND EXPERIENCE THAT YOU HAVE
• IDENTIFY GAPS IN YOUR SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
• IDENTIFY FUTURE GOALS AND HOW YOU COULD ACHIEVE THEM
• INCLUDE REVIEWS OF YOUR GOALS
‘My learning log
landed me a new job’
Documenting experience makes you a
serious bet for employers, says Jenny
Having been in recovery for a while, I began to volunteer at my local
services. I started by welcoming people in the waiting area and
signposting them to what services were around, depending on what they
wanted, and generally encouraging them into recovery and giving them
support. After a few months I began to get involved in delivering groups –
nerve wracking at first but I loved it.
My supervisor and mentor
always encouraged me to keep a
log of what I had learned –
whether it was from a training
course or learning from others (or
from my own mistakes!). During
supervision I talked about how I
wanted to become a drug and
alcohol recovery worker, and my
supervisor encouraged me to put
this in my learning log as a goal
and to take some basic qualifications (maths and English) to make me
more employable. And they also began to give me a bit more
responsibility at work. I got training, shadowed people and began to
deliver needle exchange.
When a recovery worker job came up in another service nearby, my log
of learning really helped me fill in the application form – not just my
qualifications and training, but also my personal statement, my skills,
knowledge and experience and what I still wanted to learn. If I had not
been keeping a log I don’t know how I would have begun to fill in the
application form! I was really pleased to get an interview. I took my
learning log along to the interview and talked about it and showed it to
the panel.
I can’t tell you how pleased I was to get the job and the feedback I got
was that my learning log had helped – they could see that I had goals and I
was meeting them, and I wanted to give the best service I could to the
clients. I have been a recovery worker for a year now and am still keeping a
learning log. My next goal is to get a promotion – although I think I still
have a lot of learning to do before this happens!
I would encourage anyone to log your learning – whether you are a volun -
teer or working in a service. It helps you improve your work with clients,
making you better at what you do. It helps you meet your goals – and it helps
show that you are serious about your role, making you a good bet for
employers if you want to work in recovery services or get a promotion.
‘...they could
see that I had
goals and I was
meeting them.’
Kate Halliday is FDAP/SMMGP interim executive director
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June 2018 | drinkanddrugsnews | 17