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• Reduced requirements - from 150 credits to 120 credits per triennial period, 30 of these credits are assigned to the maintenance of a professional development plan and completion of an annual conversation.

• New reporting categories:
  • Reviewing and Reflecting on Practice (RRP) 
  • Measuring and Improving Outcomes (MIO)
  • Continuing Medical Education (CME)

• Simpler rules:
  • no requirement to gather and record verification certificates
  • no waiting period for your CPD activities to be approved
  • removal of compulsory audit of medical practice (Audit) activities 

• Increased flexibility:
  • Unplanned learning is encouraged
  • Self-select the activities you formally reflect and report on

• High trust:
  • Self-assign credits to activities that did not have a pre-determined allocation or were of high value – in these instances your evidence will support these decisions

• Clearer reporting requirements:
  • One, single reporting date 
  • Clear annual requirements

• Evidence based:
  • Meaningful reflections used as evidence of engagement with CPD

• Increased focus on:
  • Planning for learning 
  • Evaluating learning
  • Working with your colleagues

Mandatory components
In line with MCNZ requirements, the new CPD programme includes a strengthened commitment to health equity and cultural safety. Practising in a culturally safe manner is an essential part of your work. Your health equity and cultural safety learning should not be viewed in isolation but should be an integral part of your ongoing educational activities. While the programme offers a great deal of flexibility, there are two mandatory components which have been set by MCNZ:

We are currently developing a new online CPD tool that will make it easy for members to navigate and record their CPD activities. We’ll keep members informed about the new programme’s start date. In the meantime, members should continue working on their usual CPD programme. 

The learning activities done now will count towards Triennium 9. When we start the new programme, we’ll enrol all members into Triennium 10 and you’ll all start the programme on the same date (regardless of where you are up to with your Tri 9 activities). When Tri 10 starts you’ll be able to access your Tri 9 record of learning via your dashboard – just as you currently do with you Tri 8.

The Medical Council of New Zealand has been signalling changes to its recertification requirements since 2015 and after two rounds of sector consultation (in 2017 and 2018), it published its new vision and principles for recertification in 2019. At that point the College established a working group to review and update its CPD programmes. 

During 2019 feedback was collected from our Education Advisory Group, Te Akoranga a Māui, the Division of Rural Hospital Board of Studies, and Medical Educators and Fellows. The College’s new CPD programme has been purposefully designed to suit our members’ scope of practice and way of working. It applies to both GPs and rural hospital doctors.