Continuing Professional Development In Social Work

Continuing professional development has become an important and widespread practice in twenty-first-century social work. This volume traces its emergence and evolution, identifying the characteristics of continuing professional development, the barriers to undertaking it, and the way social workers view it. Drawing on an international survey of practitioners and interviews with social workers and their managers, the authors provide unique insight into the possibilities and challenges of continuing professional development for newly qualified and experienced social workers alike.

All allied health and social care professionals are required to engage in Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in order to systematically maintain, improve and broaden their knowledge and skills and so develop the personal qualities and attributes required in their working lives. Extensively updated and revised, this second edition now reflects the latest regulatory requirements of health and social care professionals in the UK, and addresses the needs of health professionals working worldwide, including social workers who are now regulated in the UK by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). In addition, new chapters address the specific needs of support workers and students of the relevant professions. The book discusses the theoretical basis for maintaining competence and offers practical guidance on how to develop a strategy for professional and career development. Ways of developing and maintaining a portfolio and of creating a profile to meet regulatory body requirements are addressed, and there is an emphasis on the development of learning skills, skills of reflection and critical evaluation as central to the CPD process. Attention is given to the specific needs of those professionals working directly with service users in practice, those holding managerial positions, employed in education and undertaking research. The second edition of this practical guide provides invaluable advice for successful continuing professional development for health and social care professionals at all stages of their career. • Provides practical guidance on strategies for lifelong learning and continuing professional development • Addresses the very latest CPD and regulatory requirements for health and social care professionals • Includes specific CPD strategies for students and support workers as well as professionals employed in practice, management, education and research

Today in the United States, the professional health workforce is not consistently prepared to provide high quality health care and assure patient safety, even as the nation spends more per capita on health care than any other country. The absence of a comprehensive and well-integrated system of continuing education (CE) in the health professions is an important contributing factor to knowledge and performance deficiencies at the individual and system levels. To be most effective, health professionals at every stage of their careers must continue learning about advances in research and treatment in their fields (and related fields) in order to obtain and maintain up-to-date knowledge and skills in caring for their patients. Many health professionals regularly undertake a variety of efforts to stay up to date, but on a larger scale, the nation's approach to CE for health professionals fails to support the professions in their efforts to achieve and maintain proficiency. Redesigning Continuing Education in the Health Professions illustrates a vision for a better system through a comprehensive approach of continuing professional development, and posits a framework upon which to develop a new, more effective system. The book also offers principles to guide the creation of a national continuing education institute.

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is the means by which the professions across the world ensure that their knowledge and skills remain up to date and relevant to changing needs and environments. CPD significantly contributes to the quality and reputation of the professions and therefore to the quality of national and international social life and economic well being. Starting with a discussion on what CPD is, the author analyzes how professional bodies govern CPD, what support they provide to individual professionals and how they measure or evaluate what individuals do under the provenance of CPD. Continuing Professional Development explains why, up to now, CPD has been a relatively neglected subject in spite of it being carried out by millions. It argues whether a variety of perspectives or visions of CPD has held back wider public appreciation of it and if greater co-ordination by professional bodies, or the introduction of new players to the field, will change this in the future. Providing the first comprehensive study of the subject, this innovative book will be required reading for CPD professionals and researchers and is a fascinating read for all professionals, especially those involved with human resource development and management / leadership development.

If social work students are to flourish in their careers, and go beyond a basic sense of ‘competence’ in practice, it is essential to develop a sense of Professional Self. This book will help students develop critical understanding of their own social work practice, and the tools and skills required to become a professional social worker. It includes: Chapters on practising Reflexivity and the importance of Relationships in social work Contributions from leading social work academics A focus on building a professional identity through learning and practice The emphasis is on developing your professionalism, and how that journey translates into everyday practice. To help this growth there are further chapters on getting the best from continuing professional development, challenging poor practice and professionalism and ethics. Professor Jonathan Parker is Deputy Dean for Research and Enterprise and Director of the Centre for Social Work and Social Policy at Bournemouth University. He is currently conducting cross cultural research on learning and practice with colleagues in Southeast Asia. Professor Mark Doel is Professort Emeritus in the Centre for Health and Social Care Research at Sheffiled Hallam University, and a registered social worker. Mark′s research experience is in the fields of practice education, social work practice methods, and service user involvement.

Online and Distance Social Work Education: Current Practice and Future Trends provides a comprehensive presentation on the evolution, current status and future direction of distance learning and online education in the social work profession. Documenting the current state-of-the-art, this book demonstrates the power of distance learning and online technology and addresses future trends in web-based social work education. Written by widely recognized experts, the chapters represent an authoritative statement of the present state-of-the-art in the application of technology to contemporary social work education. The insights of these experts will be of great interest to students and faculty in the 798 accredited social work programs in the United States. They are creating a revolution in the profession which will forever change the nature of education for professional practice. Authored by widely recognized educators on the cutting edge of technological innovation, this text will be relevant to social work students and educators in baccalaureate, masters and doctoral programs in the USA and internationally. The chapters in this book were originally published in the Journal of Teaching in Social Work.

Therapists must increase their understanding of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) to maintain and improve competence. Every practitioner will need to take steps to maintain and demonstrate continued competence under the provisions of the new Health Act 1999. This book considers current policy on CPD and discusses the theoretical basis for maintaining competence and for adult learning. Primarily, however, it provides practical guidance on how to develop a strategy for professional and career development, and on portfolio preparation that shows evidence of professional updating and CPD. Many examples are given of activities in the areas of clinical work, management, education and research that can be used for CPD. The development and use of learning skills such as reflection and critical evaluation is considered central to the process. Written specifically with the therapist in mind, this book will provide invaluable practical advice to occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiographers, speech and language therapists, and podiatrists.

Praise for the first edition: ′Peter Earley and Sara Bubb bring together, in a very accessible way, theoretical and practical aspects of CPD and suggest how leadership and management can be applied in this vital area of staff development. This book will help co-ordinators and school leaders to develop their most important resource - the people who work with the children′ - Richard Stainton, Education Journal ′The most obvious target user for the book is the (not rare) person suddenly hoist with the staff development responsibility petard: but, thoughtfully used, most staffrooms will include several people who could benefit from thinking about its contents and putting some of the ideas into practice′ - British Journal Educational Technology ′This book is a welcome and practical guide to the wealth of publications on Continuing Professional Development... [M]akes an excellent contribution to the current and widening debate on the nature of Continuing Professional Development. For School Leadership Teams it is an essential resource and reference for the managing of professional development and learning. It also serves as an excellent practical guide, and CPD coordinators reading this book will find themselves questioning and as a result developing their own practice. The book is written in accessible language using believable case studies to illustrate the wealth of research that has been carried out. The deeply embedded notion among some teachers that professional development consists of the one day course is challenged, and the reader is left in no doubt as to the range of opportunities that exist and need for them to be harnessed in order to ensure school improvement. The book is will surely act as a catalyst for the review and development of CPD in schools′ - Stephen Merrill, Edge Hill College of Higher Education, British Journal In-Service Education ′A practical guide to all aspects of professional development which ought to be in the possession of every professional development coordinator in every primary and secondary school in the land - and their colleagues in leadership teams′ - Tim Brighouse, TES Friday Magazine This new edition of a best-selling book provides an up to date overview of Continuing Professional Development (CPD), combined with a guide to best practice. Changes include: - expanded sections on the professional development of support staff and the wider school workforce (particularly important in the light of workforce remodelling) and the evaluation of CPD - more on making sure that professional development has an impact, and provides good value for money - the common core of skills and knowledge for the children′s workforce, the new standards for qualified teacher status, induction, threshold, excellent teachers and advanced skills teachers as well as those for higher level teaching assistants. Drawing on the latest research, the contents include: - a clear explanation of CPD and latest developments; - practical tips on how to lead and manage CPD for a range of staff in schools - identifying training needs, designing and implementing programmes and evaluating their impact; - detailed guidance on CPD for staff at different stages of their careers. Written in a clear readable style it covers the latest standards and offers examples of current good practice. It is an essential professional reference for all those responsible for leading and managing professional learning in schools (headteachers, deputies, CPD and staff development coordinators) and Local Authorities (LAs). It will also prove invaluable to training providers and universities.