CPD is here to stay! The objec -tive of CPD is to promote life-long learning in professionals that will inevitably result in better input into patient treatment. Such improved perfor- mance must result in a better outcome and as a result, increase the impact of physiotherapy as a medical intervention. In this way, there is gain for the profes- sional, gain for the patient and gain for the profession. The question is, how to achieve this in the most cost -, time - and energy effective way. The Health Professions Council decided on a route that would be user friendly and cost effective for physiotherapists. Physiotherapists require 30 CPD points annually and the com- pulsory starting date was 1 April 2003. Failure to comply with this directive will eventually result in the de-registration of the professional. Points must be accrued in two compulsory categories. The first is in Ethics and the professional will have to accrue 2 points annually in this category. The second compulsory compo- nent is in cardiopulmonary resuscitation. It is also compulsory to obtain 2 points per year but these points can be rolled forward for one year and back (retro- spectively) for a year unlike the points in the Ethics category. Should the pro- fessional elect to do the recommended “Heart saver’s” course, which is evalu- ated for 7 CPD points, the points so obtained will fulfill the Board require- ments for three years. In addition points can be accumulated in one of the fol- lowing three categories: Category 1: Organisational activities, which include attendance of formal learning opportunities, will be credited with one point per hour of attendance. These activities include, but are not restricted to conferences, congresses, workshops, lectures, seminars and refresher courses. These meetings are organized on a regional, national or inter- national basis and are non-recurring. Category 2: Small-group activities will be credited with one point per hour where participants are actively involved. In addition, one point per hour will be granted for presenting such activities. These activities include, teaching ward rounds, journal clubs and small-group discussions/presentations. Category 3: Individual activities such as self-study. It is important to note that only self-study activities evaluated by an approved provider will count. At a recent meeting of the profes- sional board CPD points were also allo- cated for clinical supervision (up to 24 points can be earned with this activity). Points were also allocated for the “buddy” system of the South African Society of Physiotherapy, designed to support the new community physiothera- pists (maximum of 12 points). It needs to be emphasized that you will only acquire these points if the activity is not part of your normal employment work and if you don’t earn any income in this way. Points were also allocated for answering questions on the content of the journal (2 points per edition), for reviewing articles for publication (2 points per article) and obviously for publishing in the Journal (15 points for first author and 5 points for the co-authors). In future, every journal will provide 10 questions on the articles published in that edition. Seven out of ten correct answers will earn you two points, so that in total you can, by reading the journal, earn eight CPD points annually. The questions are taken from any/all of the articles without information on the source of the question. In this edition you will find pages with the questions as well as explicit instructions on how to secure your CPD points from the South African Society of Physiotherapy. I hope this service will become a popular and fun method of attaining some of your CPD points. If you have any comments or suggestions on this activity of the Journal, we would like to hear from you. Wishing you a joyful learning experience! Celie Eales E D I T O R I A L EDITOR: - C.J. Eales, PhD University of the Witwatersrand ASSISTANT EDITOR: - A. Stewart, MSc University of the Witwatersrand EDITORIAL BOARD: NATIONAL MEMBERS - S.L. Amosun, PhD University of the Western Cape - P. Gounden, PhD University of Durban-Westville - M. Papadoupolos, MSc University of Pretoria - M. Faure, MPhil University of Stellenbosch - N. Mbambo, MSc MEDUNSA INTERNATIONAL MEMBERS - A. Akinpelu, PhD University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria - T.H.A. Kolobe, PhD University of Illinois, Chicago - K. Shepard, PhD Temple University, Philadelphia - C. Partridge, PhD University of Kent, Canterbury REVIEW PANEL 2002: - Bester, Ria - Bischof, Faith - Bowerbank, Pat - Crocker, Jenny - Crous, Lynette - David, Helen - Diener, Ina - Eisenberg, Masha - Eksteen, Carina - Fearnhead, Lynn - Frieg, Annette - Giraud, Jill - Hunter, Linda - Irwin-Carruthers, Sheena - Jelsma, Jennifer - Kemp, Stephanie - M’Kumbuzi, Vyvienne - Mothabeng, Joyce - Mpofu, Ratie - Naidu, Prinola - Paulsen, Tom - Potterton, Joanne - Puckree, Lina - Van Rooijen, Tania 2 SA JOURNAL OF PHYSIOTHERAPY 2003 VOL 59 NO 2 MAKING THE MOST OF CPD