The Code of Ethics and the Practice Standards of the Audiological Society of Australia (ASA) govern the professional practice of audiology for members of the ASA. To meet these high standards Members undertake professional development to enable them to maintain appropriate skills and learning in their areas of professional practice. The purpose of the Continuing Professional Development Program is to provide a structure that enables members to formally document the ways in which they manage and extend their professional skills and knowledge. The ASA Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program provides recognition and encouragement for the continuing participation of ASA members in high quality professional development. The CPD program will enable members of ASA to demonstrate to external stakeholders (clients, employers, government, the community and other professional groups) their commitment to the highest standards of professional competence for Audiologists.

In order to obtain maximum benefit from CPD, members need to identify their learning goals and requirements, then to undertake their personally planned CPD activities to meet these goals and finally to document these activities appropriately for auditing by the ASA.

The CPD program is focused on maintaining a high quality practice of audiology and is tied to the Certificate of Clinical Practice (CCP). Members of the ASA who are not engaged in clinical practice are not required to formally document their CPD and will not be issued with a Certificate of Clinical Practice. However, in recognition of the value of CPD, the ASA strongly encourages all members to participate in the program.

Review of the CPD program

The CPD program is subject to on-going review. We anticipate and encourage feedback from Members. If you have any comments or feedback please contact your State Branch representatives on the FEC or write directly to the FEC c/o the ASA National Office - Suite 7, 476 Canterbury Road Forest Hill, VIC, 3131.

In order for you to meet the requirements of the CPD program and retain your CCP, you will need to

• Accumulate 50 CPD points within the two-year CPD cycle, and
• Work in audiology for a period equivalent to 4 months full-time or an average of 6 hours per week in the period of the CPD cycle.

A CPD cycle is two years and commences on 1 April in every odd-numbered year and ends on 31 March in the next odd-numbered year. As an example, the current CPD cycle began on 1 April 2007 and will end on 31 March 2009. Points may be accumulated through participation in CPD activities. In general, one hour of CPD activity equals 1 CPD point. Only the contact hours for an activity are counted. The number of points for different types of activities is listed in the CPD Points Allocation Table.

The rate of accumulation of points is at your discretion. That is, there is no minimum or maximum number of points to be earned in each year of the CPD cycle. However, you are encouraged to undertake CPD activities from a range of different activity areas and as some activities are capped you will need to refer to the CPD Points Allocation Table to ensure you do not exceed the CAP. Points in excess of the required number cannot be carried over to the next CPD cycle. Some of these activities can be independent activities related to your personal professional development goals and some of the activities may be endorsed activities.

Activities that can be claimed in your CPD program

The CPD program is structured to allow you choice and flexibility in how you access your professional development. Independent activities and Endorsed activities can be included in your CPD portfolio. Independent activities cover any professional development activity that you may undertake that is related to your professional development goals. Independent activities include profession-related activities including structured activities such as workshops, seminars and conferences, as well as activities carried out for the ASA, training, supervision, peer directed study, research and formal study. Participants do not need to gain points in each area. You can choose which activities best meet your professional development needs and access CPD activities in that area. However, please refer to the CPD Points Allocation Table to ensure you do not exceed the CAP in any area. The main criteria for acceptance of an activity as valid for CPD is that it is relevant to your learning goals for your practice of audiology and that you can demonstrate how the activity contributes to achieving these goals. All activities should involve an evaluative or reflective component. That is, CPD learning is an active rather than a passive process.

The types of independent activities recognised for CPD include:

1. Structured activities including seminars, workshops, conferences, short courses in all areas of clinical practice, or in administration/management or in technology areas related to audiology or audiological service provision. These activities could be either endorsed or independent activities.
2. ASA activities including active participation in the ASA in Federal or State Branch executives, ASA working parties, contribution to ASA documents (eg. fact-sheets, position papers etc.), ASA representative in other organisations.
3. Supervision including supervision of members undertaking their (Graduate) Clinical Internship or of audiology students on clinical practicum.
4. Training including training co-workers in new or advanced techniques or activities such as community education talks in audiology.
5. Independent or peer directed study including professional reading, videos, journal clubs, internet discussion groups, special interest group meetings, independent learning packages, and clinical case discussions.
6. Research including active participation in planning, implementation, analysis and write-up of research in the area of audiology.
7. Formal Study. This area recognises courses that are relevant to your professional development and goals, and that are offered by educational institutions with formal assessment procedures. These courses may be directly in audiology eg. PhD in Audiology or outside the area of audiology eg. MBA, Auslan 1.

Learning goals related specifically to the clinical practice of audiology, or to the management of the professional practice of audiology are legitimate areas to be included in your CPD. In addition, broader generic skills such as improving problem solving skills, writing skills, conflict resolution and negotiation skills, time management, research techniques and small business management are all potentially relevant to your audiological learning goals and may be claimed for CPD.

Work as CPD Activity

The guiding principle for you in deciding whether to include an activity in your CPD is to determine if that activity is central to the adequate fulfilment of your core duties in the workplace. If it is, then the activity should not be included as a CPD activity.

You should not claim CPD points for performing your normal activities in the workplace. The goal of the CPD program is to recognise learning for activities that will enhance your performance in your professional role, not simply allocate points for doing your job. However, ASA does recognise that some members are employed in positions that cover a wide range of activities.

You may claim activities provided they are not your primary duty. For example, if you are employed to do research you cannot claim research output for CPD. However, if you are working as a clinician and undertake clinical research using your client group, then that research activity can be claimed for CPD.

Similarly, a clinician who writes up a case study can claim that output for CPD. Someone employed as a clinical supervisor cannot claim clinical supervision as part of their CPD. However, if you are normally employed as a clinician and you undertake supervision of a student on clinical practicum you can include supervision.

Similarly, a clinician in a hearing clinic may claim supervision of Graduate Clinical Interns/Clinical Competence Interns in their clinic as this activity enables the clinic to develop the skills of a new audiologist rather than limiting employment to experienced audiologists.

If you are employed primarily as a trainer or educator you cannot claim CPD points for your time giving lectures or training courses, but a clinician who runs a training session for co-workers may claim that time

At the end of each CPD cycle you are required to post your summary CPD log sheets (two pages comprising “Summary Log - Declaration” and “Summary Log - Description of Activities”) by the due date. Your “Summary Log - Declaration” will only be accepted if it is signed and dated. In general, the due date will be 14 days after the end of the CPD cycle (i.e., 14 April in every odd-numbered year). Late returns may result in delays in renewal of your Certificate of Clinical Practice. If you require confirmation of receipt of your documentation you will need to request this via email allowing at least 10 working days from the time of posting to enable ASA to record the receipt of your documents. The information from your CPD log will be recorded on the ASA membership database so that your eligibility for renewal of your Certificate of Clinical Practice can be verified when you renew your ASA membership at the end of the financial year. It is your responsibility to:-

1. Retain copies of all documents submitted to ASA in case they are lost or mislaid and to submit those copies if requested.
2. Retain all supporting documentation for 2 years after the end of the CPD cycle for auditing purposes.

The CPD committee will conduct a random audit of up to 35% of returns from members in each CPD cycle. If you are to be audited, you will receive a request from the ASA National Office to submit all supporting documentation including Indepent Audit logs for each independent activity, for your CPD return for sighting by the auditor. This documentation must be submitted in the required format within 4 weeks of receipt of the request or you will be asked to show cause why your Certificate of Clinical Practice should not be revoked.

Parental Leave

If you take parental leave during the course of a CPD cycle, the CPD program requirements include

You may claim a maximum of 25 point reduction in one CPD cycle if you take Parental Leave during the cycle.

If your Parental Leave spans over two cycles you may elect to claim ½ the points reduction in both cycles as long as there is a minimum of 3 months of parental leave in the cycle.

It is expected that you would work the equivalent of a minimum of 3 hours per week within the cycle.

If your circumstances do not clearly fall within the guidelines, please contact the office to enable us to negotiate a positive outcome for all concerned.

NOTE: The above conditions apply provided appropriate documentation is submitted to the ASA with your Summary Log at the end of the CPD cycle. It is your responsibility to provide documentation to the ASA and in the absence of adequate documentation you will be expected to fulfil normal CPD requirements.

Provision for special consideration of members in exceptional circumstances

If you cannot meet the requirements of CPD, you may wish to apply for special consideration. See below.

Members who meet the CPD point requirements but do not meet the work hours requirement

The CPD program requires that members maintain the currency of their knowledge and skills through undertaking appropriate professional development activities as well as through continuing participation in the professional area of audiology. This participation may be accomplished through a broad range of activities in the provision of audiological services. For example, it may be met by working as a clinician or as an administrator of audiological services, or as an educator in the field of audiology. Participation in the field of audiology is an important component of CPD as it allows members to apply and develop their professional knowledge.

If you have completed the CPD point requirement but do not meet the work participation requirement of CPD because of exceptional circumstances, you should provide documentation supporting your case along with your Summary Log to the ASA National Office at the end of the CPD cycle. The documentation should provide details of your circumstances and supporting documentation for your application for special consideration.

Members who do not meet CPD point requirements

It is your responsibility to plan your CPD activities so that you can accrue the required points within the CPD cycle. Failure to do so will result in you loosing eligibility for the Certificate of Clinical Practice. However, if you find that through unforeseen or exceptional circumstances, you cannot reach 50 points, you should write to the ASA CPD Co-ordinator as soon as you are aware that you cannot fulfil the CPD requirements or no later than the end of the CPD cycle outlining the reasons for your failure to accrue the required number of points.

Requirements for members working part-time

If you are in part time employment, you must meet the minimum work hours over the CPD cycle in order to be eligible for the Certificate of Clinical Practice. Also, you need to meet the same CPD points requirements as those working full time. This requirement is based on the client’s interests. Part-time work does not reduce your need to be current in your knowledge and skills.

Members completing their (Graduate) Clinical Internship during the CPD cycle

If you complete your Internship during the CPD cycle then you will need to meet the CPD requirements on a pro-rata basis depending on when your Internship was completed within that cycle. For example, if you completed your Internship 6 months after the commencement of the CPD cycle then you must complete 38 CPD points and work a minimum of 9 weeks full-time or average not less than 4½ hours per week in audiology.

In the event of an appeal from a member of the ASA regarding

1. Revoking their Certificate of Clinical Practice
2. Failure to receive special consideration due to special circumstances

Then the following procedures will be followed.

1. If the FEC determines that a member will not receive recognition of special circumstances, or revokes a member’s eligibility for a Certificate of Clinical Practice then the ASA will advise the member that an appeal must be made in writing within 1 month of the decision.
2. Appeals should be lodged with the Chair of the Education Sub-Committee of the FEC, addressed to the ASA National Office.
3. The Chair of the Education Sub-Committee of the FEC will form an appeals committee comprised of
1. Chair of the Education Sub-Committee of the FEC (Chair)
2. A nominee of the appellant
3. The ASA President or nominee
4. President of the State Branch from the member’s state or nominee.
4. The Chair of the Education Sub-Committee of the FEC will send a notice of the hearing time and date to the appellant.
5. The appellant is entitled to make written submissions to the Appeals Committee or may present orally to the committee (via teleconference). The appellant must provide all documentation needed to substantiate their appeal to the Appeals Committee.
6. The Appeals Committee will make a recommendation to the FEC based on the information provided and evaluated against the criteria for allocation of CPD points and recognition of CPD activities.
7. The FEC will consider the recommendation of the Appeals Committee and communicate the decision to the appellant within 1 month. The decision of the FEC is final.

Documentation Required for Claiming CPD Activities

The documentation required is different depending on whether the activity is endorsed by the ASA CPD Endorsement Committee or is an independent activity.

Endorsed Activities

Endorsed activities are activities that have been reviewed by an expert panel appointed by the FEC to review proposed activities for their high quality content and adherence to adult learning principles. This includes the endorsement of the educational component of a commercial activity. If you undertake endorsed activities, the documentation required from you is minimal because these activities have been through a rigorous quality assurance process. There are two levels of endorsement available – Premium and Standard.

1. Premium Endorsed Activities
   Activities will only receive “Premium” endorsement if they are open to all members of the ASA.
2. Standard Endorsed Activities
   Activities that receive “Standard” endorsement are those that meet the quality requirements for endorsement but are not open to all members of the ASA. That is, they may be only open to audiologists working in a particular workplace.

When you attend an endorsed activity you are required to fill out an evaluation form at the completion of the endorsed activity and submit it to the organisers of the activity. Also, you will receive a Certificate of Attendance. This certificate contains all information that you require to document the activity for your CPD portfolio, including the number of CPD points and the endorsement number of the activity.

Independent Activities

The object of the CPD program is to recognise learning. The activities credited therefore attempt to recognise any activity related to your learning goals in audiology where something has been learned. It is your responsibility to document your learning on both your Audit and Summary Log sheets. The documentation required for each type of activity is detailed in the CPD Points Allocation Table.

There are several types of Log Sheet for recording your CPD

Forms required for completeion for the 2007/2009 CPD Cycle:

These forms can be completed electronically or you can photocopy as required and complete them manually

Audit Log - Endorsed Activities - September 2007
 - To be retained with Certificates of Attendance

Audit Log - Independent Activities - September 2007
 - To be completed for EVERY Independent activity (excluding Clinical Meetings)

Audiological Clinical Meeting Record – September 2007
 - To be completed for EVERY Clinical Meeting being claimed

Application for CPD Points for Humanitarian Audiology – September 2007
 - This must be submitted and assessed by the CPD Committee prior to commencement

Application for CPD Points for Independent “Other” Activity – September 2007
 - This must be submitted and assessed by the CPD Committee prior to commencement

Forms to be submitted at the end of the CPD Cycle:

Summary Log – Declaration – September 2007

Summary Log – Summary of Activities – September 2007

NOTE: Do not include any activity that is not evidenced in your full documentation

Together these sheets form your record of your CPD activities. These must be sent in hard copy – NOT electronically once you consider you have fulfilled your CPD requirements.

The CPD log provides you with an opportunity to systematically document all your professional development activities. You are therefore encouraged to continue to use the log throughout the entire CPD cycle even after you have met the minimum CPD requirements. This log could be used to demonstrate to a prospective employer the extent and depth of your commitment to maintaining the currency of your professional skills and knowledge.

What to send to ASA

Hard copy only - no faxed or emailed copies will be accepted.

The two Summary Log sheets, i.e., the Declaration and the Summary of Activities, are to be posted to reach the ASA within 14 days from the end of the end of the CPD cycle. Make sure you sign and date the Declaration. You should retain a copy of these sheets for your own records.

The Endorsed and Independent Audit Log sheets, including the printout from the Electronic CPD Log contain more detailed documentation and verification of your CPD activities. These sheets should be retained by you and should only be sent to the ASA if you are selected for audit. If you are audited you must provide to ASA a copy of your complete Audit Log and full documentation for sighting by the auditor. Do not send originals of your CPD materials to the ASA.

Planning your CPD goals

Planning for your CPD learning starts at the end - the results you want to achieve. Those results will be solely determined by how you wish to develop your skills and knowledge as an audiologist. For some audiologists, your goals will be to maintain the currency of your knowledge within the area of your current practice in audiology. That is, your CPD activities will focus on your existing areas of competence. Examples of the types of activities you may want to undertake for CPD include: reading new articles about current techniques and outcomes related to your practice, participating in clinical discussion groups with your peers and supervising new graduates in audiology who are undertaking their Graduate Clinical Internship.

Other audiologists may set goals that will see them approach new areas of professional development to expand their knowledge or skill base. This may include developing their competence in new clinical areas (for example, developing skills and knowledge in electrophysiological techniques). Some audiologists will want to develop skills in related areas such as developing business management skills and will set their CPD goals in this area. The important thing is that you are in control of your CPD and the activities you do are determined by your personal goals.

After you have set your goals you will then need to match these goals with appropriate activities. In formal activities such as seminars you should be able to judge how the learning objectives of the seminar match your learning goals. In other activities, you will need to assess materials and activities to determine if they are likely to be relevant.

CPD activities are not only structured learning activities, but include a whole range of activities related to learning. You are encouraged to select the type of activity that best suits your learning goals and personal circumstances.

Your individual CPD needs

Your CPD needs will be determined by how you want to develop your skills and knowledge. Are your development needs related to enhancing your knowledge and skills in

1. An area of clinical practice
2. Business management skills
3. Supervision and training
4. Technology e.g., software (i.e., use of database programs), use of audiovisual equipment (digital video etc.), video/telephone conference technology
5. Contribution to the ASA?

Once you have decided on the area(s) for your development needs you need to set specific learning goals for each of the areas you wish to target for CPD activities. Examples of learning goals are shown in Table 3 below.

Examples of learning goals

These goals can then be extended into a full CPD plan, as shown in the following example.

Example CPD Plan

1. Hours spent in upgrading your supervision skills such as attending supervision-training seminars or reading about supervision.
2. Supervision of (Graduate) Clinical Interns
3. Supervision of Masters of Audiology Students
4. Training of Audiometrists doing the OTEN course

An activity code has been allocated to each of these activities - refer to the CPD Points Allocation Table.

If you are employed in any of the following roles, you cannot claim supervision as part of your CPD:

Clinical Educator, Clinical Supervisor, any role where clinical supervision is the primary nature of your employment (eg. at a University where you supervise students).

The role of a supervisor is more than sitting in and observing how a new audiologist performs. It is more than simply reading files to check that all the relevant information has been completed.

The following list may help you to clarify your role as a supervisor.

An effective supervisor:

• Maps a plan for the development of clinical skills with their staff/ students including short and long term goals in consultation with the trainee
• Allows time for debriefing staff/students regularly to go over issues and provide feedback on performance
• Listens to staff/students in order to check understanding of clinical issues.
• Is able to explain things clearly
• Provides support
• Has realistic expectations about the ability of staff students
• Is informative
• Shows a genuine interest in staff development
• Has the confidence to demonstrate skills
• Is able to offer suggestions for improvement in a tactful assertive manner
• Is willing to listen to staff concerns when they affect work practices
• Has an approachable manner and is available to provide advice
• Is patient
• Maintains a sense of humour

A learning agreement between the supervisor and supervisee

Supervision must be supported by a learning agreement between the supervisor and supervisee. This learning agreement is the product of negotiation between you as supervisor and your supervisee about the structure and content of the clinical experiences. The supervisee will have a list of desirable learning experiences they would like from your clinic. Based on the nature of your clinic or your workplace, the available time and clinic demands, the actual clinical learning experiences in which the supervisee will participate will be negotiated, planned, and recorded on the Learning Agreement. The Learning Agreement should include details including the following:-

1. The nature of your supervision. While both observation and discussion should occur throughout the entire period of supervision, the requirements for these will change with time. The Learning Agreement should describe how much observation you will do of the supervisee with the client, how will you supervise (sit-in, through observation mirror, through discussion with supervisee), who decides the need for observation, how you will interrupt a session if you feel the client’s care is not optimal.
2. How and when feedback will be given.
3. How will the supervisee evaluate their own clinic performance (e.g., clinical journal, video tape some sessions, etc.)?
4. What level of client care will the supervisee be given?
5. The nature of the learning experiences to be offered.

The Learning Agreement should be signed and dated by both the supervisor and supervisee and should be reviewed regularly throughout the supervisory period. CPD points can only be claimed for time spent in supervisory processes such as feedback and not for clinical process time (time spent with the client).

Click here for sample Learning Agreement

  Certificate of Clinical Practice (CCP)

The Certificate of Clinical Practice is valid for 2 years. In order to renew your Certificate of Clinical Practice you must be a current financial Full Member or Fellow of the Audiological Society of Australia and meet the CPD requirements of the current CPD cycle, which include

• Working in audiology for the equivalent of 12 weeks fulltime during a 2 year period or an average of 6 hours/week over a 2 year period, and
• Completing the CPD points requirements of professional development over the 2 years.

Initial application for a Certificate of Clinical Practice by a Full Member or Fellow of the ASA may be made if they have completed an approved course of clinical supervision or (Graduate) Clinical Internship. Members are eligible for a Certificate of Clinical Practice once they have satisfied requirements for Full Membership and have completed an approved course of clinical supervision.

An approved course of clinical supervision shall be equivalent to a period of not less than 12 months fulltime, supervised by a Full Member of the Audiological Society of Australia who also holds a current Certificate of Clinical Practice.

Regaining your Certificate of Clinical Practice (CCP)

You may apply to Council to regain the Certificate of Clinical Practice if

(a) You are re-entering the workforce

(b) You have remained in the workforce but, for some reason, no longer hold the Certificate of Clinical      Practice

You will need to contact the Office to discuss your options.