How To Earn Physio CPD Online in the UK

Keeping your clinical knowledge up to date is an essential part of being a physio, but finding time for Continuing Professional Development (CPD) alongside a busy schedule isn’t always easy.

For UK physiotherapists, the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) requires ongoing CPD to maintain professional registration. Fortunately, online education makes life easier, offering a flexible way to stay up to date and learn whenever and wherever suits you.

What are the CPD requirements for physiotherapists in the UK?

The Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) requires registered physiotherapists in the UK to undertake ongoing CPD to maintain and improve their professional practice.

To meet the HCPC’s five CPD standards, you must:

• Maintain a continuous, accurate and up-to-date record of your CPD activities.
• Complete a mixture of learning activities relevant to your current or future practice.
• Seek to ensure your CPD improves the quality of your practice and service delivery.
• Seek to ensure your CPD benefits your patients or other service users.
• Provide a written CPD profile supported by evidence if selected for an audit.

It isn’t just about ticking boxes, it’s about developing your clinical expertise to ultimately provide better care for your patients.

How does HCPC CPD work?

The HCPC takes a flexible approach. Rather than focusing on hours or points, the HCPC is interested in what you’ve learned and how that learning has improved your practice and benefited your patients.

Physiotherapists are expected to undertake CPD regularly throughout their two-year registration cycle and maintain a record of their learning.

At each renewal, the HCPC randomly selects 2.5% of physiotherapists for a CPD audit. If selected, you’ll need to submit a written profile demonstrating how you’ve met the CPD standards, supported by evidence of your learning.

This is where Physio Network’s CPD Tracker can help. It’s available for all members, and automatically records your CPD activities in one place, making it easy to keep track of your CPD and provide documentation if you’re ever audited.

How much CPD do physiotherapists need to complete?

Unlike some other countries, the UK has no minimum number of CPD hours or points that physios must complete each year.

Instead, the HCPC requires you to undertake regular, relevant learning throughout your registration cycle. The flexibility is great, but without a clear hourly target, it can be difficult to know whether you’re doing enough.

The key is to focus on consistent, clinically applicable learning. You don’t need to squeeze lengthy courses into your schedule – build CPD into your routine through smaller activities that are relevant to your clinical practice.

Even setting aside 30 minutes each week to read research or watch an educational video can help you maintain a consistent learning habit.

What activities can count towards CPD?

The HCPC recognises a wide range of formal and informal learning activities, provided they’re relevant to your professional practice. You must also undertake a mixture of at least two different types of learning activities.

Examples include:

• Online courses and webinars: Learning from experienced clinicians through structured educational content.
• Reading research: Exploring journal articles, clinical guidelines and emerging evidence.
• Conferences and workshops: Attending professional seminars and practical training sessions.
• Peer learning: Participating in mentoring, clinical supervision and case discussions.
• Research and teaching: Conducting research, presenting findings or contributing to educational activities.
• Self-directed learning: Exploring clinical questions through independent research and reflection.

Can online physiotherapist courses count as CPD?

Yes, you can absolutely count online physiotherapy courses towards your HCPC CPD requirements, provided the learning is relevant to your practice and contributes to your professional development.

The biggest perk is flexibility, whether it’s 20 minutes between patients or an hour to spare at home, online CPD lets you learn at your own pace, without travelling or rearranging your clinical schedule.

It’s also worth knowing that the HCPC doesn’t approve or endorse individual CPD courses. What matters is whether the learning is relevant, how you reflect on it and how it contributes to your practice and patient care.

How Physio Network can support your CPD

Physio Network makes it easy to stay up to date with the latest research, learn from world-leading experts and complete clinically relevant CPD that you can instantly apply in the clinic.

With a range of flexible online learning options, you can choose how you want to learn:

• Research Reviews: Stay up to date with the latest clinically relevant research without spending hours reading journal articles.
• Masterclasses: Dive deep into specific clinical topics through comprehensive lectures taught by world-leading experts.
• Practicals: Watch experts demonstrate hands-on assessment and treatment techniques you can apply in clinical practice.
• Case Studies: Develop your clinical reasoning and decision-making skills through real patient cases.

Physio Network courses also include quizzes and certificates of completion to help you document your learning and maintain evidence of your CPD activities.

Keeping a CPD record for HCPC

The HCPC requires physios to maintain an up-to-date CPD record, with no prescribed format. If audited, you’ll need to demonstrate how your learning over the previous two years has met HCPC standards. Keeping records as you go, including brief reflections on how your CPD has improved your practice and benefited patients, can make this much easier.

For each activity, consider recording:

1. Activity details: What did you complete, and when?
2. Time spent: How long did you spend learning?
3. Reflection: What did you learn, and how has it influenced your practice?
4. Supporting evidence: Keep certificates, attendance records or other relevant documentation.

Physio Network’s CPD Tracker, available to all members, helps you automatically record all these things in one place, making it easier to keep track of your CPD and access supporting documentation.

Staying on top of your CPD doesn’t have to be complicated. With Physio Network, you can access evidence-based learning that fits around your schedule, while easily keeping track of your CPD activities in one place.

Less time worrying about ticking boxes, more time focusing on becoming a better clinician!