Recertification - Continuing Professional Development (CPD)
Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a critical part of the Board’s recertification programme. It’s a way for medical imaging and radiation therapy practitioners (health practitioners) to retain competence and keep updated on the most current practices. It is also a way for health practitioners to support their ongoing professional development. All practitioners must complete their required CPD. The Board's recertification programme (CPD) is established under section 41 of the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003 (the Act).
As a health practitioner you will actively engage in a range of learning activities throughout your career to make sure you continue to practise safely, effectively and legally within your evolving scope of practice.
To make sure this is happening the Board carries out CPD audits. Every two years up to 40% of practitioners are selected and asked to provide information about what CPD they have carried out over the last two consecutive years – from January one year to December the following year - we refer to this as a biennium.
The last audit conducted by the Board was done in 2023. The next audit will be done in 2025.
Recent changes
Please note the following recent changes have been made to the CPD cycle:
- CPD is now audited within a two-year period known as a biennium (two consecutive years). Each biennium is fixed (from 1 January to 31 December one year and then 1 January to 31 December the following year).
- Audits will be carried out by the Board every two years, in the year following the end of a biennium/CPD cycle. The Board select up to 40% of health practitioners with a current practising certificate to participate in the audit. Those selected must provide their CPD information for the whole biennium period.
The CPD policy has recently been updated to include these changes to the CPD cycle.
Audit 2025
The 2025 biennium audit covers 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024.
Health practitioners selected for audit in 2025 will need to provide information about the CPD they have undertaken during that period.
In readiness for the 2025 audit, health practitioners must ensure:
- their two years of CPD (1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024) meets the minimum requirement of 40 hours over that biennium
- a minimum of 15 hours must be completed in any one year.
Exemption from audits
Exemption requests (from an audit) will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
All requests to be exempted from an audit must be made within 14 working days of being notified that you have been selected for audit by emailing mrtbaudit@medsci.co.nz
If you have any queries about the CPD audit, or what to do, view the FAQs at the bottom of this page.
Please note: You are required to provide CPD for the years that you have been practising so, if you have been practising in your practice/s you are required to provide CPD.
Contact
All audit documents must be emailed to: mrtbaudit@medsci.co.nz
Please include your registration number in all communications with the Board.
Auditing
If you are called for audit in 2025 you will be required to provide the following documentation:
Part A of the form is for you to complete, and Part B is for you and your employer to complete. If you hold an Annual Practising Certificate (APC) in more than one scope of practice, you need to submit a declaration for each scope of practice.
A brief description of key responsibilities in your current and previous roles. This information helps us to align your logged CPD activities with your professional role and track recent practice hours. Your employment history should cover the audit period: 1 January 2023 – 31 December 2024.
A logbook, listing the CPD activities you have completed between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2024. The list should include the following information for each activity:
- Date and time of CPD activity.
- Location of activity (if applicable).
- Type of CPD activity - substantive or general CPD activity.
- Brief description of the activity.
- CPD hours for the activity.
- Source, reference, provider details, or name of facilitator/speaker.
- A total of substantive and general activities completed each year.
Provide four reflective statements:
- one must be related to your scope of practice (substantive activities)
- one must be related to ethical practice
- one must be related to culturally appropriate practice
- one of your own choices (in addition to the three above).
Provide evidence (attendance certificates, attendance sheets or references to articles you wrote or did read) for six of the CPD activities you completed between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2024.
You must provide all requested documentation before the due date (to be confirmed in 2025), otherwise, you can delay your audit results.
Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Information on page 7 of the CPD Policy document says:
If you are registered for the first time OR you’re returning to practice and haven’t worked during the full audit period of 1 January 2023 to 31 December 2024, then follow the guide below:
Medical imaging and radiation technologists: five (5) hours of CPD for each consecutive three-month period the health practitioner has been working within the relevant biennium (the two-year consecutive period we are currently auditing), ie between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2024.
The CPD Policy document (Continuing Professional Development) is here. You can also access it on this website under the following page/scope of practise: medical radiation technology (encompassing the practices of medical imaging and radiation therapy).
You can make a request (stating why you wish to be exempt from participating in the audit). It needs to be done via email, within 10 business days after receiving the initial selection email.
Email mrtbaudit@medsci.co.nz - use the subject heading ‘Board CPD Audit 2024’ – include the following information in the body of the email: first name/surname and registration number.
No. All documents/information must be scanned, numbered, oriented the same way (either portrait or landscape, but not both), combined/saved as one pdf document, and sent by email. Please include your registration number in all communications with the Board.
Extensions will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Please email the team at mrtbaudit@medsci.co.nz
Every two years a number (not all) of Board health practitioners are selected to participate in a CPD audit. However, we anticipate that within a five-year period all Board health practitioners will have taken part in an audit.
The audit is a legislative requirement (under the Health Practitioners Competence Assurance Act 2003, Section 41).
CPD is where a health practitioner takes part in learning activities throughout their career to ensure they continue to practise safely, effectively, and legally within their scope of practice (as it evolves).
Yes. All health practitioners must be able to provide evidence they have engaged in a minimum amount of CPD within a two-year period. For more specific details about this view the CPD Policy.
View the CPD Policy - it specifies how many hours a health practitioner needs to spend on their CPD each year, and what the requirements are.
Yes. The minimum amount of CPD required applies to all health practitioners, regardless of whether they are employed on a full-time, part-time or casual basis. For more specific details about this view the CPD Policy.
Yes. There is a minimum number of CPD hours that need to be recorded. For more specific details about this view the CPD Policy under ‘Pro-rated CPD’.
View the relevant CPD Policy for your scope of practice (under ‘CPD activities’ and ‘Examples of CPD activities’) for relevant details.
Yes. We have provided a ‘logbook’ template on this website so you can record all the CPD activities you have undertaken, for each of the auditable periods. For more specific details on how to use the logbook view the CPD policy under ‘A logbook’.
A reflective statement describes the activity that you engaged in, its relevance to your practice, and what you have changed or not changed as a consequence of participating in this activity.