Continuing Professional Development: Importance and Personal Experience

This article discusses the importance of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and its role in personal growth. It also provides a personal experience with CPD and the use of Gibbs' Reflective Cycle. The article highlights the benefits of working in a group and attending online sessions, and the skills that can be developed through CPD. The article concludes with the importance of CPD in achieving career goals.

Continuing
Professional
Development

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................5
REFERNCES:..................................................................................................................................7
Books and Journals:....................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Continuing Professional Development or CPD can be meant by a process of tracking and
representing the knowledge, skills and experience that a person attain in his life. It can be both
formal and informal. It can be used a record to explain what a person is experienced, learned and
then applied it in his life. CPD is a continuous process of building, maintaining and documenting
the personal and professional skills (Chien, 2019). These skills can be developed and improved
through various training, courses, on the job training or even it can developed by observing
others. This process goes from knowing the requirements about what a person wants to develop
through planning and then carrying out the learning sessions. This assessment is based on the
personal experience that shows what study and employability skills has been developed and
improved while attending the university.
MAIN BODY
Gibbs' Reflective Cycle is a useful model that is used to provide structure to learning
from experiences. It delivers a framework that focuses on continuous cycle of improvement for a
continual experience as well as it can be used to reflect on a stand-alone experience. One of the
main things about this model is that it helps to understand the importance of feelings in
reflection. It will also help me to detached the evaluation that means what I went well and what I
did not. With the help of following stages I can reflect my learning experiences in the university.
Description, in my academic year, I was allotted with a group assignment in which there
were three to four members involved with me. Also I was asked to prepare a power point
presentation in which I had to demonstrate my career path that I want to follow for my future.
The job position which I am dreaming is Human Resource Manager in a well-reputed
organisation which can use my skills, knowledge, specialization and many more. I want to get a
job in that company where I can develop and grow myself in both ways personally and
professionally. In order to prepare the power-point presentation I divided the section between me
and other members so that we only had to research the topics that we could do in the effective
way. While preparing the assignment, I realised that there was a need to develop various skills
within me such time-management skills, communication skills (particularly verbal), networking
and teamwork skills. As I dreamed off my career in the HR specialization, I found that these
skills are very important to manage people in the company. It requires me to communicate with

others, manage deadlines, make members to work in the collaborative way and many more. Due
to the impacts of Covid-19 pandemic, it made me to attend online classes in my academic year.
With the help of latest technologies, I was able to attend my online sessions through Zoom calls.
Feelings, in order to complete that assigned task I was happy and excited that I got a
chance to work in the group. Working with other individuals helped me to develop various skills,
helped me to make new friends and I realised that when I worked in a group, it made me to do
my work in the most attractive way as I got a chance to exchange my thoughts with others.
Sometimes, exchanging ideas and thoughts with each other leads arguments and disputes that
made me frustrated. Before this task, I was a quite and shy person in which I was not able to
communicate my words with others. I often realised that other members in my team spoke in
their native languages which sometimes hard to understand. Hence, we decided to talk in the
common language through which we can understand each other aspects. Moreover, I felt less
confident in the group because sometimes I was not able to complete my work on time and
missed various sessions of learning. I ended up quite guilty that I missed my sessions which
could affect my future as well.
Evaluation, while performing a group task, it delivered me several good and bad
experiences. I experienced that working in group made me frustrated as I had to argue with other
individuals in order to put my words upfront but somehow I feel that putting my words helped
me to build my communication skills. While arguing with other people in the session helped me
to listen their perspectives and communicating my as well. Making group presentation puts
pressure on me that I had to complete the assignment within the deadline otherwise it could
result in failing the task, which also affects my grades in the whole academic year. I managed my
routine and other activities so I could be able to complete me task on the given deadline.
Additionally, I found that working and completing the group assessment made me to improve
my team working and networking skills. Due to the pandemic situation, I used to take sessions
through Zoom calling in which random people were invited whom I never made any contact
before. Communicating with such random people helped me to build my networking skills which
provided me huge benefits such as makes me able to develop bonds and life-long relationships
through technologies. I was involved in different activities and met a lot of random and different
people. While taking with others, I came to know about various latest trends that makes me to

improve my knowledge and able to make me access new resources that helps me to foster my
growth in my dream career.
Analysis, it is analysed from my personal experience is that there were lot of good and
bad memories and experiences. Both experiences helped me to learn and develop various skills
within me. As I see my career in the HR department, focused on my learning sessions very well.
I think working in the group activities was my right decision. Working with other people and
taking my mentor's guidance and directions helped me to know my strengths and weaknesses so
that I could work on the areas that needs improvement and which help me to get the job position
of HR manager in my future. It also helped me to identify my growth opportunities and chances
to take the role of HR manager in the well-reputed company. I also realised that the competition
is very tough for me as there are a lots of members who are competent enough for the role of HR
manager. Hence, I need to work harder so that I can prove that I am able to get the desired
position. The latest technologies also provided us a range of benefits to us and helped all of my
team members to attend the sessions even at the time of pandemic where everything was terrible
and many people are still there who are lacking with the chance to attend online classes as it
requires cost. Also, attending such sessions helped to develop different skills such as time-
management, networking, team-working as well as communication skills which is essential for
me to develop my career in the chosen field.
Conclusion, I learned from my personal experience is that working in group was a best
chance that my mentors gave to me. It helped me to develop new bonds with random people as
we used talk and communicate over video calls. Working in group sometimes lead me stress and
frustration but overall it was a good experience as I came to know and meet different people
from different background. By doing such task and group activities, it made me to realise my
worth and acknowledge that where I need improvements and developments so that I will be able
to take the desired position of HR manager.
CONCLUSION
On the basis of above discussion, it has been concluded that continual professional
development plays a very fundamental role in a person's life. It helps a person to identify and
track his skills, knowledge and experience in order to attain his life goals and aspirations. It acts
as a framework to let know the person about his learning and experiences and defines the ways
through which it can be applied practically. Gibbs model is used in the assessment to explain the

personal experience of a person what he has learned, experienced throughout his learning. It is
consist with five stages description, feelings, evaluation, analysis and conclusion. It is a
systematic way to demonstrate the personal experience which could be bad or good.

REFERNCES:
Books and Journals:
Chien, S. C., 2019. Toward an understanding of high school in-service English teachers’
identities in their professional development. Asia Pacific Education Review, 20(3),
pp.391-405.
Delima, J. F. and et.al., 2020. Unintended benefits of a Randomised Control Trial: A
demonstration of the impact of coordinated continual professional development in a
remote hospital setting. Australian Journal of Rural Health, 28(6), pp.626-628.
Hmelo‐Silver, C. E., Bridges, S. M. and McKeown, J. M., 2019. Facilitating problem‐based
learning. The Wiley Handbook of Problem‐Based Learning, pp.297-319.
Hussein, R. and et.al., 2019. Good clinical support transforms the experience of new graduates
and promotes quality care: A qualitative study. Journal of nursing management, 27(8),
pp.1809-1817.
Maffoni, M. and et.al., 2019. Healthcare professionals’ moral distress in adult palliative care: a
systematic review. BMJ supportive & palliative care, 9(3), pp.245-254.
Tay, E. G., Toh, T. L. and Kaur, B., 2019. Surprising Singapore. In Mathematics Education in
Singapore (pp. 1-9). Springer, Singapore.