Making time for continuing professional development (CPD)

Nurses must undertake continuing professional development (CPD) as a requirement to continue their registration as a nurse for the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC). Many nurses consider CPD to be something which they undertake at work or in a classroom and overlook the other forms that CPD can take.

Many nurses think they do not have the time to undertake additional CPD away from the workplace. This article will consider what CPD is, what forms it can take as well as considering some strategies nurses might adopt to make time for CPD.

What is CPD?

Once qualified, nurses, and other professionals, need to have a method to demonstrate they are staying up to date with changes in practice. This can be done through CPD, allowing staff to continuously engage with developments which relate to professional nursing practice. The word ‘continuing’ suggests that it is a concept that nurses need to