Critical Analysis of CPD and NMBA Standards in Australian Nursing

This essay provides a critical analysis of Continuing Professional Development (CPD) in Australia, specifically within the nursing profession. It examines the mandatory nature of CPD for maintaining nursing registration and emphasizes its importance in ensuring nurses remain at the forefront of their field. The essay critiques a provided position statement, highlighting the link between CPD and the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) standards, particularly standards 6.1, 6.2, 2.4 and 3.2. It acknowledges the challenges nurses face in completing the required CPD hours due to heavy workloads but underscores the value of CPD in enhancing knowledge and skills. The analysis also points out some limitations, such as the lack of focus on the quality of CPD. Overall, the essay argues that while achieving the required 20 hours of CPD annually can be difficult, CPD programs are essential for improving nurses' performance and healthcare outcomes. The essay also highlights the availability of online CPD training offered by various institutions and companies to facilitate the process for nurses.

Running head: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON CPD IN AUSTRALIA
A critical analysis on CPD in Australia
Name of the student
Name of the University
Author note:

1A CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON CPD IN AUSTRALIA
CPD (Continuing professional development) is practiced to help the nurses and the
midwives to get them at the forefront of their profession. The purpose of this essay to critique
the provided essay and to analyze the fact that CPD is mandatory to maintain the registration
of a nurse.
The position statement of the essay precisely states the importance of CPD. From the
statement we knew, the health professionals are expected to do deliver quality care and they
have to widen their knowledge to be competent (Pool, Poell, & ten Cate, 2013). The nurses
have to manage an extremely heavy workload, which leaves them a little time for them to
sign up for a CPD course and complete the 20 hours.
In the provided essay, the position statement is clearly structured as it states the
requirement of CPD in Australian nursing very prominently. It clearly states that the health
professionals are expected to deliver quality care and they have to widen their knowledge to
be competent. The provided essay has a clear introduction, which states the purpose of the
provided essay. The conclusion of the essay is also precise as it explains the problem of
achieving the 20 hours of CPD program and concisely provides the solution (Ross, Barr, &
Stevens, 2013).
The essay transparently states the relation of CPD with the NMBA standard. There
are many rules in the NMBA standard, which offers the nurses to be competent by acquiring
new knowledge and attaining some new skills (standard 6.2). According to the nursing
standard 6.1, the nurse have to provide safe and quality care to the patients to achieve the
goals and outcomes which is responsive to the people (Pool, Poell, & ten Cate, 2013). These
two NMBA nursing standards relate completely with the importance of CPD. According to
the NMBA standard 2.4 and 3.2, a registered nurse who has completed the full 20 hours of
CPD can benefit the patient by providing the right information. Therefore, the position

2A CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON CPD IN AUSTRALIA
statement directly links the important of CPD to the NMBA standard
(Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au., 2016).
The author of the essay has missed to state the current opportunity of CPD in this
provided article. Currently, the CPD opportunities in Australia are huge as many companies,
universities, and special interest groups are offering the course. There was a study conducted
to examine the factors, which motivates the nurses to undergo the CPD training (Ross, Barr,
& Stevens, 2013). As the nurses carry a heavy workload, many universities and companies
are offering the nurses the online CPD training (Katsikitis et al., 2013).
The author has not included the barriers and challenges of CPD in the essay. The
guideline for CPD only states the number of hours the nurses has to undergo the training but
does not states about the quality of CPD (Narayanasamy, & Penney, 2014). Because of this
drawback, some of the nurses just focus to increase the number of hours rather than focussing
on the learning outcome. All the references used in the provided essay are relevant and
credible.
The overall purpose of the provided essay was fulfilled as it states that achieving 20
hours of CPD per year is hard for the nurses because of the tremendous workload, but the
CPD programs enable the RNs to maintain and enhance their knowledge and skills to
improve their own performance and the health outcome of the unit and the hospital.

3A CRITICAL ANALYSIS ON CPD IN AUSTRALIA
References:
Katsikitis, M., McAllister, M., Sharman, R., Raith, L., Faithfull-Byrne, A., & Priaulx, R.
(2013). Continuing professional development in nursing in Australia: Current
awareness, practice and future directions. Contemporary nurse, 45(1), 33-45.
Narayanasamy, A., & Penney, V. (2014). Coaching to promote professional development in
nursing practice. British Journal of Nursing, 23(11).
Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. (2016). Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia -
Professional standards. Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. Retrieved 14 September
2017, from http://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Codes-Guidelines-
Statements/Professional-standards.aspx
Pool, I., Poell, R., & ten Cate, O. (2013). Nurses’ and managers’ perceptions of continuing
professional development for older and younger nurses: a focus group
study. International journal of nursing studies, 50(1), 34-43.
Ross, K., Barr, J., & Stevens, J. (2013). Mandatory continuing professional development
requirements: what does this mean for Australian nurses. BMC nursing, 12(1), 9.