Frequently Asked Questions
A recertification programme is the name given to the set of activities and processes that Council requires you undertake or satisfy, on an on-going basis, to demonstrate that you are continuing to maintain your competence to practice. This includes participating in continuing professional development.
Doctors who are registered in only a general scope of practice and have a current annual practising certificate are required to participate in InPractice.
The exceptions to this are:
Doctors who are participating in a vocational training programme
Doctors who have had their scope limited to non-clinical practice
Short term locums registered within a general scope must sign up to the InPractice programme. The dates specified in the Annual Practicing Certificate will be used as the dates of enrolment in the InPractice programme.
During each 12-month CPD cycle each doctor must complete a minimum of:
- A professional development plan
- 20 hours of continuing medical education
- 10 hours of peer review
- One audit of medical practice
- Four meetings with the nominated collegial relationship provider
In addition to the annual requirements, each Doctor must complete:
- The Essentials quiz before the first renewal date and then once every three years
- Feedback on practice, through colleague feedback and patient feedback (where practicable) once every three cycles
- A regular practice review visit when scheduled
For non-annual enrolments, Doctors may have their requirements adjusted on a pro-rata basis, at the discretion of the InPractice medical advisors.
All Doctors enrolled in InPractice must pay an annual fee. InPractice reserves the right to review the fee annually. The current fee is $1,200 GST exclusive; $1,380 GST inclusive.
Doctors who join InPractice part way through their APC cycle will have their fee calculated on a pro-rata basis for the amount of time remaining until the end of their APC cycle.
There is a minimum enrolment period of 90 days in the InPractice programme.
The main purpose is to ensure that your Professional Development Plan (PDP) and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) activities are appropriate for the area of medicine you are working in. This relationship helps you maintain your competence by guiding and facilitating your planning for continuing learning and reflective practice.
InPractice requires all doctors participating in the programme to establish and maintain a collegial relationship with a vocationally registered colleague working in the same or similar scope of practice to that in which the doctor usually works.
Maintaining the collegial relationship is defined as the doctor and colleague having four interactive meetings annually.
The Regular Practice Review (RPR) is a supportive and collegial review of a Doctor’s clinical practice and professional development activities by one of our InPractice Reviewers.
The RPR process is designed to:
- Provide Doctors with independent feedback on their practice in order to help them identify both areas for improvement and learning needs in order to appropriately target professional development activities.
- Ensure Doctors have the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and judgment required to practice safely and to an acceptable standard.
The ultimate goal of RPR is to improve the quality of care that a Doctor’s patients receive by facilitating the Doctor’s professional development.
The Medical Council of New Zealand had set out cultural safety standards that it requires all doctors to meet.
The term ‘cultural safety’ reflects the evolution of thinking, away from the cultural competence of Doctors – that is acquiring skills and knowledge of other cultures – towards self-reflection of a Doctor’s own attitudes and biases that may affect the cultural safety of patients.
Safer cultural clinical practice should help practitioners to provide better care, and to better address healthy inequities in New Zealand.
InPractice requires Doctors to record at least two hours of CME each year focused on cultural safety.
Any doctor not practising medicine in New Zealand for a period of three consecutive months or more, may apply to temporarily park their account with InPractice for the period of their absence from medical practice. Any period greater than 12 months, the membership will be withdrawn.
Requests to park accounts must be made to InPractice in writing (email) before the period of absence begins. Retrospective applications will only be considered if there has been extenuating circumstances.
Once parked, the doctor will not be required to record recertification activities for the period of their absence. The extent and nature of the activities required to complete the doctor’s recertification requirements for the current CPD cycle will be determined on a pro-rata basis at the discretion of the InPractice team. Any doctor who parks their account will continue to have access to the information stored in their InPractice ePortfolio, but not the ability to record new information.
The Medical Council will be notified when a doctor temporarily parks their account, and the doctor must notify InPractice when they return to medical practice in New Zealand. Participation in a recognised recertification programme is a requirement of holding an Annual Practising Certificate.
Doctors wishing to permanently withdraw from InPractice should notify the programme in writing (email) stating the date they wish to withdraw. Reasons for withdrawing include:
- Entering vocational training
- Going overseas for an extended period
- Stopping practicing in New Zealand
- You have been instructed by the Medical Council to withdraw
Any doctor who has withdrawn from InPractice will continue to have access to the information stored in their ePortfolio, but not the ability to record new information.
The Medical Council will be notified of any doctor who withdraws from InPractice.