{"id":3636,"date":"2022-08-23T15:57:40","date_gmt":"2022-08-23T05:57:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/?p=3636"},"modified":"2022-08-23T15:57:43","modified_gmt":"2022-08-23T05:57:43","slug":"launching-amts-professional-development-standards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2022\/08\/23\/launching-amts-professional-development-standards\/","title":{"rendered":"Launching AMT&#8217;s Professional Development Standards"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">By Subhadra Gerard<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>\u201cAMT places great value on members providing a <em>best practice<\/em> approach to their client\u2019s therapy, and to active participation in the health industry. In line with this, AMT promotes a culture of members fulfilling meaningful professional development, and endeavours to share opportunities with members to achieve this.\u201d<\/p><cite><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amt.org.au\/downloads\/PD\/AMT-Professional-Development-Guide.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">AMT professional development guide<\/a><\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>As you will all be aware, AMT transitioned to a reflective model of continuing professional development (CPD) back in 2020. We have been using this system for 2 1\/2 years now and it has been pretty successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, that doesn\u2019t mean we can\u2019t tweak it some more to make it even better. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Board of AMT has been monitoring the journey of this still-relatively-new PD model and, in a recent review, determined that we could improve outcomes by developing a set of guiding standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The resulting <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amt.org.au\/downloads\/PD\/AMT-Professional-Development-Standards.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">AMT Professional Development Standards<\/a> that I am introducing to you today clearly encompass the objectives of the current model, as well as giving AMT members clear direction and guidance on how to meaningfully fulfil continuing professional development requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a nutshell, here are the 7 standards:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009899\">Standard 1 \u2013 Logging activities<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Addresses the type and level of documentation needed for individual activities.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009899\">Standard 2 \u2013 Relevance and scope of activities<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Addresses the requirement for PD activities to be relevant to your current practice or projected changes in massage practice.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009899\">Standard 3 \u2013 Variety of activities<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Addresses the requirement for activities to reflect the spectrum of massage practice, not just one facet.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009899\">Standard 4 \u2013 Quality of formal activities<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Addresses the requirement that formal training be delivered by suitably qualified trainers, with an element of supervision and\/or assessment, as appropriate.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009899\">Standard 5 \u2013 Quality of informal activities<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Addresses the requirement that these activities are of an appropriate professional level and are supported by written documentation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009899\">Standard 6 \u2013 Quality assurance<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Addresses the goal that members will seek activities that enhance the quality of their practice.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color\" style=\"color:#009899\">Standard 7 \u2013 Audit of professional development records<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Addresses the requirement for members to engage with the audit process in a timely and appropriate manner. Just in case you need reminding, the AMT Board\u2019s role includes monitoring the competence of member massage therapists. This includes regular audits of AMT members\u2019 reflection records to ensure compliance with continuing professional development standards.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Professional development plans<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>When you read through the PD Standards document and get to #6, on quality assurance, you will see professional development plans are mentioned. I believe that creating and maintaining a professional development plan (PDP) would benefit most massage therapists. A PDP is not something you just keep in your head though. You write it down. Look at it. Review it. Make additions or changes to it as your career evolves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>PDPs can come in different shapes and sizes because they are used in a wide range of business\/professional environments. You may be able to access a suitable PDP template that works for you on the internet but there\u2019s nothing stopping you from creating your own from scratch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In its simplest form, a PDP provides a framework that identifies goals, resources, activities and learning opportunities for growth. It also identifies milestones in terms of completion of goals and objectives \u2013 be they short-term, medium-term or long-term \u2013 that help you assess progress towards your desired outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A PDP is not static; rather it is an ever-changing document that assesses your current skill set, helps you set career goals, create strategies and uncover resources that will help you reach your goals. Importantly, it is a document you update as your goals, surroundings and priorities change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In my view, there are many benefits that arise from maintaining a PDP. Having a plan:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\" type=\"1\"><li>builds confidence and credibility, both in the work you do and in gaining new skill sets<\/li><li>helps you structure realistic and achievable goals and a timeline for achieving them<\/li><li>teaches you how to track and monitor your progress, and how to re-evaluate and reset in response to changing scenarios and circumstances<\/li><li>provides clarity of purpose\/direction.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>AMT&#8217;s continuing professional development scheme provides you with the <em>freedom<\/em> to choose a range of activities within a self-directed learning framework. In other words, you are firmly in the driver\u2019s seat. The flip side of this freedom is that you have a <em>responsibility<\/em> to choose and document activities that are relevant to the scope of massage therapy practice and pitched at an appropriate level for a health practitioner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The AMT Professional Development Standards have been created to help you navigate AMT&#8217;s reflection-based model of CPD. We hope it will give you clarity of purpose, and serve as a roadmap for planning, undertaking and documenting your professional development journey. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It is my pleasure to commend the standards to you. I trust you will find them useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About The Author<\/h4>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignleft size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Mugshot-2021.jpg?resize=134%2C156&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3315\" width=\"134\" height=\"156\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Mugshot-2021.jpg?resize=882%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 882w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Mugshot-2021.jpg?resize=259%2C300&amp;ssl=1 259w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Mugshot-2021.jpg?resize=768%2C891&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Mugshot-2021.jpg?resize=1324%2C1536&amp;ssl=1 1324w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Mugshot-2021.jpg?resize=1765%2C2048&amp;ssl=1 1765w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Mugshot-2021.jpg?resize=750%2C870&amp;ssl=1 750w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Mugshot-2021.jpg?resize=300%2C348&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Mugshot-2021.jpg?w=1871&amp;ssl=1 1871w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 134px) 100vw, 134px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>Subhadra Gerard is a massage therapist and occupational therapist in Perth, WA. He took on the role of Chairperson of the AMT Board of Directors in May 2021. He is a devotee of the professional development plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AMT Chairperson, Subhadra Gerard, launches AMT&#8217;s new professional development standards and waxes lyrical about professional development plans.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,110,164,50,13,2],"tags":[106,794,501,865,866,185],"class_list":["post-3636","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-amt","category-clinical-practice","category-continuing-education","category-members","category-news-and-events","category-professional-practice","tag-amt-chairperson","tag-continuing-professional-development","tag-cpd","tag-professional-development-plan","tag-professional-development-standards","tag-subhadra-gerard"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/Screen-Shot-2022-08-23-at-12.07.11-pm.png?fit=1422%2C770&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3310,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2021\/06\/30\/amt-chairperson-winter-2021-message\/","url_meta":{"origin":3636,"position":0},"title":"AMT Chairperson Winter 2021 Message","author":"admin","date":"30\/06\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Why does writing a professional development reflection properly even matter? AMT Chairperson Subhadra Gerard explains.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AMT&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Chairperson-winter.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Chairperson-winter.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Chairperson-winter.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Chairperson-winter.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Chairperson-winter.png?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":2100,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2019\/10\/16\/welcome-to-the-new-pd\/","url_meta":{"origin":3636,"position":1},"title":"Welcome to the new PD!","author":"admin","date":"16\/10\/2019","format":false,"excerpt":"AMT is pleased to announce the details of the new professional development scheme we will be rolling out next year. We encourage all AMT members to read the just-released 2020 Professional Development Guide and throw some questions our way.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AMT&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Breaking-News1.jpg?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Breaking-News1.jpg?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Breaking-News1.jpg?fit=560%2C315&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3780,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2023\/09\/07\/becoming-socially-acceptable\/","url_meta":{"origin":3636,"position":2},"title":"Becoming socially acceptable.","author":"admin","date":"07\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"AMT is excited to announce the release of our ground breaking Social Media Standard that has been designed to empower massage therapists across Australia in maintaining professional and ethical standards while engaging on social media platforms. Learn more about the evolution of the Standard and how it relates to your\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AMT&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A collage of Social Media icons","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/social-3064515_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/social-3064515_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/social-3064515_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/social-3064515_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/social-3064515_1280.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1084,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2018\/08\/22\/announcement-launch-of-the-amt-mentoring-scheme\/","url_meta":{"origin":3636,"position":3},"title":"Announcement: Launch of the AMT mentoring scheme","author":"admin","date":"22\/08\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"This is it! The announcement you've all been waiting for. AMT's mentoring scheme is set to open in one week, on Wednesday 29 August. It's the culmination of nearly two years research and development, and we can't wait to get started. 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And we say au revoir to a friend ...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AMT&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/annual-report-23.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/annual-report-23.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/annual-report-23.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/annual-report-23.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/annual-report-23.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":544,"url":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/2018\/02\/13\/ceu-is-fun-and-sexy\/","url_meta":{"origin":3636,"position":5},"title":"CEU is fun and sexy!","author":"admin","date":"13\/02\/2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Check out the latest continuing education offerings and upcoming opportunities for AMT members, the location of the AGM and a reminder about the annual conference.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;AMT&quot;","block_context":{"text":"AMT","link":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/category\/amt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blog.amt.org.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/CEU-screenshot-1-300x205.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3636"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3643,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3636\/revisions\/3643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.amt.org.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}