RCP approves EASD e-Learning modules for continuous professional development

Accreditation for 14 EASD e-Learning modules by the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK (RCP) mean that learners now have even more opportunities to earn continuous professional development points on the EASD e-Learning platform.

Starting this week, 14 EASD e-Learning modules will carry statements indicating that they have been accredited for continuous professional development (CPD) by the RCP. Accreditation follows an independent assessment of these modules’ quality, judged against the RCP’s own defined standards.

Welcoming the news, EASD e-Learning Programme Director Dr Eleanor D Kennedy paid tribute to the assistance the site has received from its authors, expert reviewers and assessment setters – and many of the EASD’s study groups. “This achievement reflects an enormous amount of hard work and dedication from our expert supporters, who have enabled us to ensure that all the modules we provide attain the level of quality required by accrediting bodies such as the RCP.”

Since September last year, formal CPD accreditation of 14 EASD e-Learning modules by the UK’s Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has already led to a significant rise in the number of learners accessing CPD-accredited modules. “We hope to see a similar increase associated with this news from the RCP,” said Dr Kennedy. “This helps to demonstrate the important contribution our modules can make to the delivery of safe, high-quality care for people at risk of or living with diabetes.”

The following modules have now been approved for CPD by the RCP:

• Hypoglycaemia, module 3: ‘Fear of hypoglycaemia’ by Professor Frank Snoek
• Diabetic neuropathy, module 3: ‘Management of painful diabetic neuropathy’ by Professor Solomon Tesfaye
• Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, module 2: ‘NAFLD – prevention and treatment’ by Professor Michael Roden
• The pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes, module 1: ‘Introduction to the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes’ by Professor Chantal Mathieu
• The pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes, module 2: ‘Arresting type 1 diabetes’ by Professor Chantal Mathieu
• Diabetic ketoacidosis, module 1: ‘Pathophysiology and diagnosis of diabetic ketoacidosis’by Professor Ketan Dhatariya
• Diabetic ketoacidosis, module 2: ‘Managing diabetic ketoacidosis in adults’ by Professor Ketan Dhatariya
• Diabetic ketoacidosis, module 3: ‘Preventing diabetic ketoacidosis’ by Professor Ketan Dhatariya
• Diabetic ketoacidosis, module 4: ‘Paediatric diabetic ketoacidosis’ by Professors Thomas Danne, Catarina Limbert and Júlia Galhardo
• Phenotypic variability, module 1: ‘Phenotypic variability in type 2 diabetes’ by Professor Stefano Del Prato
• Islet transplantation, module 1: ‘An introduction to islet transplantation’ by Professor Francois Pattou
• Technology and type 1 diabetes, module 1: ‘Basics of insulin pumping’ by Professor Pratik Choudhary
• Technology and type 1 diabetes, module 2: ‘Continuous glucose monitoring’ by Professor Pratik Choudhary
• Technology and type 1 diabetes, module 3: ‘Closed-loop systems’ by Professor Thomas Danne

Course cards for any EASD e-Learning courses that include accredited modules will be marked with a lozenge labeled ‘CPD’. The same lozenge will also appear next to the relevant module title on the course content ladder. Clicking the button marked ‘Contains accredited modules’ on the courses homepage will also bring up all courses with CPD-accredited content.

Learners who have successfully completed an accredited module will be given the option to download a personalised certificate of completion, stating the module’s accreditation by the RCP or the RCGP (or both), together with information on the module’s duration.

As part of the process of preparing modules for accreditation, the EASD e-Learning team made extensive improvements to the way modules are assessed and expanded their practical clinical content. Consequently, if you completed a module before it was accredited but want to obtain a certificate of completion that includes the RCP accreditation statement, you will need to retake the end-of-module assessment.

Further modules will be submitted for accreditation over the coming months, with a view to obtaining RCP accreditation of the whole platform by the fourth quarter of 2023. Plans are also in place to submit the EASD’s online courses to national accrediting bodies around the world.

Any opinions expressed in this article are the responsibility of the EASD e-Learning Programme Director, Dr Eleanor D Kennedy.