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Continuing Professional Education Record
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CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION (CPE) POLICY
January 2011

NOTE: The following information is primarily for the benefit of ATMS members. Information and the Application Form for organisations/individuals desiring to have an activity approved for ATMS CPE Points may be obtained by clicking HERE.

INFORMATION FOR ATMS MEMBERS

Date of Introduction — 1 January 2011

This 2011 ATMS Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Policy updates and replaces the pre-existing 2002 Policy with effect to all activities undertaken from 1 January 2011.

Brief Summary Of Changes

The most significant change to the 2002 Policy is that the rate of accrual of CPE points for some activities has been varied. Please refer to the Table at the end of this document for the details of the revised rates of accrual rates of CPE points.

Another important clarification is that ALL Accredited members must undertake CPE activities, including those not in practice. Also clarified is that to be eligible for CPE points, an activity must not be inconsistent with the ATMS Code of Conduct, any ATMS Policy or any Law of Australia.

Members are encouraged to read this document in its entirety to ensure their compliance with the ATMS CPE Program.

What Is The Purpose Of The ATMS Continuing Professional Education Program?

The purpose of the ATMS CPE Program is to facilitate the desire and commitment to a continued professional learning process in ATMS Accredited members. It is designed to ensure ATMS practitioners regularly update their clinical skills and professional knowledge.

A CPE Program is an integral part of one's professional life. While a professional’s entry level of skills and training are vital, it is not enough for a person to simply become a professional, one must remain a professional. Being a professional implies a commitment to updating and furthering one's education.

The ATMS CPE Program therefore encourages and abets a philosophy that continued learning relevant to a Member’s profession is essential to achieve excellence in the care and management of patients.

What Is The ATMS CPE Program?

Simply put, the ATMS CPE Program is self selected learning from a wide variety activities to allow Accredited members to continually develop, even revise, their existing knowledge and skills relevant to their professional life.

Holistically, the ATMS CPE Program encompasses the following principles:

• Easily accessible to all members, regardless of geographic location

• Within the boundaries of being clinically relevant and/or business related, members have broad latitude in the selection and design of their individual learning programs

• Applicable to not only the disciplines in which a Member has ATMS accreditation, but also to other practices that are relevant to clinical practices which ATMS does not accredit, eg ayurveda, yoga, reiki, etc

• Applicable to not only clinical practice, but also to all activities associated in managing a small business eg bookkeeping, advertising, marketing etc

• Seminars, workshops and conferences that qualify for CPE points must be of a high standard and encompass both broad based topics as well as discipline-specific topics

• Financially viable, so that costs will not inhibit participation by ATMS members, especially those in remote areas

• Relevant to the learning needs of practitioners, taking into account different, yet valid, learning styles and needs

• Collaborative process between professional complementary medicine associations, teaching institutions, suppliers of therapeutic goods and devices and government agencies to offer members the widest possible choice in CPE activities.

Who Is Required To Undertake The ATMS CPE Program?

All ATMS Accredited Members must undertake CPE activities. This includes Accredited Members who might not be in current practice.

How Much CPE Must Be Undertaken?

Each ATMS Accredited Member must accumulate 20 ATMS CPE points each financial year. This means that an Accredited Member will be required to undertake a minimum 20 hours of CPE activities during each financial year. Members joining part way through a year will need to accumulate points on a pro-rata basis. 20 hours of CPE activity is the Profession norm, and meets the requirements of Health Funds.

CPE Record Keeping And Audits

The onus of record keeping is the responsibility of each Member. Members will be issued with a CPE Record Form, and members are encouraged to record their activities with the required proof in the CPE Record Form. CPE Record Form may also be downloaded from the ATMS website.

The requirement of proof is an essential factor in the CPE process, and the evidence produced must be reasonably self-evident that the activity was undertaken. Proof of a dubious nature will not be accepted.

In addition, Accredited Members are required to sign a declaration on the annual membership renewal form that 20 ATMS CPE points were accumulated during the immediately preceding financial year.

The CPE Record Form and associated evidence is to be kept by the Member for 3 years. The ATMS conducts an annual audit of the CPE activities of 5% of Accredited Members. Upon request from the ATMS, the CPE Record Form and substantiating evidence must be produced within the stated period.

Should a Member not be able to substantiate that at least 20 hours CPE has been undertaken in the relevant period, than sanctions will be applied, including loss of Health Fund recognised provider status.

CPE And Health Funds

By effect of Federal Legislation, a practitioner who wishes to be recognised as provider by any health fund must undertake CPE activities. Accordingly all health funds require that Members undertake CPE, and most stipulate that a member must undertake 20 hours of CPE activities each year.

Consequently Members who do not declare on their Membership Renewal Form that they have undertaken 20 hours of CPE activities, or when requested are unable to substantiate to the satisfaction of the ATMS that they have undertaken 20 hours of CPE in the relevant financial year period, will automatically loose entitlement to be included on the lists of eligible providers the ATMS sends to the health funds.

The practical effect of the preceding is that patients of a Member excluded from the health fund lists sent by the ATMS will no longer be able to claim health fund rebates in respect of the Member’s services.

The ATMS has no discretion in this area. It is a requirement of the health funds, and is outside of the control of the ATMS. Thus all Accredited Members are urged to maintain accurate and proper records and evidence of their CPE activities.

What Activities Qualify For CPE Points?

Many activities qualify for ATMS CPE points. This is in keeping with the philosophy that the ATMS CPE Program consists of self selected learning from a wide variety of activities to allow Accredited members to choose how to best continually develop their existing knowledge and skills.

The onus however is on the Accredited Member to demonstrate that an activity undertaken is relevant to their professional life. Activities considered to be irrelevant will not be accepted.

A general description of the types of activities which may be undertaken is listed in the Table at the end of this document.

Are There Any Activities Which Do Not Qualify For CPE Points?

Yes.

In addition to activities which are considered to be irrelevant, any activity which, either in whole or in part, teaches, demonstrates or in any way advocates practices, techniques, methods etc that contravene any section of the ATMS Code of Conduct, any ATMS Policy or any Law of Australia are automatically prohibited from the ATMS CPE program.

No points will be accrued if a member attends such an activity, including if the prohibited activity forms only a part of the activity.

The ATMS Code of Conduct may be accessed HERE. Activities which would be in breach of the ATMS Code of Conduct or ATMS policies include those which in any way:

• Teach, demonstrate or in any way advocate the massage of breast tissue or genitalia

• Teach, demonstrate or in any way advocate the ingestion of essential oils

• Teach, demonstrate or in any way advocate the internal examination of a patient

• Teach, demonstrate or in any way advocate the use of a therapeutic good or medical device that is not on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (if it is required to be on that Register)

• Teach, demonstrate or in any way advocate a technique that is within the domain of physiotherapy, chiropractic or osteopathy (eg forms of high velocity manipulation) unless the member is accredited by ATMS for Chiropractic or Osteopathy

• Activities for which a members does not possess the requisite prior learning and/or qualifications, (including even if no prior learning requirements are stipulated)

This list is not exhaustive. Members need to exercise due care and diligence that an activity is suitable for ATMS CPE points, and that they do possess the requisite prior learning and/or qualifications for the activity to be considered suitable in their individual circumstances. Members who are uncertain about the suitability of an activity for CPE Points should contact the ATMS Chief Administrative Officer before undertaking the activity.

How Are ATMS CPE Points Allocated?

The points allocation for CPE activities is based on the quality and relevance of the training, while at the same time not being overly restrictive as to the range, scope and depth of suitable activities. These potentially conflicting ideals are best and fairly managed by scaling the accrual of CPE points according to the activity category.

Consequently activities which are conducted by ATMS, ATMS Recognised Colleges or by Organisations which have obtained ATMS CPE approval for their activity, attract the highest rate of points accrual, being 1 CPE point per actual tuition hour capped at a maximum of 5 CPE points per day.

These activities which accrue points at the highest rate are listed on the ATMS website for the benefit of members. Only activities which are listed on the website may advertise they have been approved for ATMS CPE points. In cases of any doubts or confusion, members are urged to contact the Chief Administrative Officer at ATMS.

Other activities not listed on the ATMS website may still qualify for ATMS CPE points, but at lesser rate of accrual of 1 CPE point per 2 actual tuition hours and capped at a maximum of 3 CPE points per day. The onus however is on the Accredited Member to demonstrate that such an activity is relevant to their professional life. As noted earlier however, activities considered to be irrelevant, or otherwise unsuitable, will not be accepted for ATMS CPE points.

If the activity is not listed on the ATMS website then it very likely has not been approved by ATMS, and it must NOT be advertised as being approved for ATMS CPE points. Again members are urged to report any possible breaches to the ATMS Chief Administrative Officer.

The above refers primarily to seminar and the like activities. There are however a wide range of activities which may qualify for ATMS CPE points, and these and their points allocation are described in the following Table. If a member has any doubt as to the suitability of an activity, he or she is encouraged to contact ATMS for advice.

TABLE OF ATMS CPE ACTIVITIES

NOTES:

“Seminars” refers to a broad range of seminar like activities, including face to face lectures, workshops, demonstrations etc. “Seminars” also refers to activities delivered by other means generally regarded as distance education, including Internet Webinars, DVDs, Telephone seminars, Self-Paced home study etc.

“Short seminars” are those which have no more than 20 hours of tuition (excluding meal breaks, preparation, homework etc), and which also do not exceed 3 days.

“Long seminars/courses” are those seminars/courses which exceed 3 days and also are for at least 20 contact tuition hours.

“Homework, Preparation Time, Tuition Breaks, etc” Under no circumstances may points be accrued for any time spent on homework, preparation/research activities or breaks in tuition, for example meal and rest breaks. For all activities, points may only accrued in respect of the time spent in actual tuition.

TABLE OF ATMS CPE ACTIVITIES