Important: The Learning Plan must be approved
by CDR no later than 120 days after the date of your certificate for completing a home study program.
CDR's recertification
process for RDs and DTRs is called the Professional Development
Portfolio (PDP) Process. You were sent a binder by CDR and it may seem a bit overwhelming however, with some tips & pointers we can help you to see it's not quite as complicated as it seems.
Basically
here are the five steps to the PDP made easy:
Step 1. Self-Reflection
Reflect on your professional interests, and identify your short and
long-term goals that are dietetic related. What's important is that
the goals you identify will drive all of your learning activities. That's
why we suggest that you make your goals as broad as possible so that
you have lots of flexibility for the other steps.
If you don't have a clue where or how to get started, look at the "Learning
Needs Assessment" yellow forms (Step 2) and see what interests
you. Anything on this form is by definition dietetic related.
Better yet if you can align your goal with one of the first headings
in each of the nine learning need categories (learning codes that end
in 000) from the Learning Needs Assessment (Step 2) then you can do
any of the learning needs identified under that broad heading and still
be in compliance with the system.
By the way you can have as few as one goal or as many as you want. Keep
these forms in your own file.
Step 2. Assess your learning needs
These forms may seem overwhelming until you realize that you only need
to complete those items that relate to the goal(s) you established in
Step 1.
For example, let's say that in Step 1 you established your goal, as
"I want to improve my professional skills." You fill out only
those "Learning Need Codes" that relate to your goal, which
may include Codes: 1000--Professional skills; 1010--Career planning,
job search, goal setting; and 1120--Time and stress management, life
balance. Keep these forms in your own file.
3. Develop your learning plan
This is the form you will be forwarding to CDR and if you want to make
substantial changes to your plan you have to notify CDR. That's why
I suggest you keep your goals broad (i.e. pick codes that end in 000)
so you have wiggle room.
For example in the "Goal" section you fill in:
"I want to improve my professional skills." In the "Learning
Need" section you put "Professional skills" fill in
Code 1000.
You may add additional codes if you desire such as 1010--Career planning,
job search, goal setting; and 1120--Time and stress management, life
balance. However, any of the codes listed in the 1000 category will
satisfy your 1000 learning need code.
For "Approved Types of Continuing Professional Education (CPE)
Activity," you go to our catalog and
note that our program C256 "Goals: Your Road Map to Success" is appropriate for Codes 1000, 1010, 1110, 1120.
You can use programs of any level for every Level (1, 2 or 3).
You mark the "Pre-approved Self-study--720 Printed" section
of the green form.
You complete Step 3 by coming up with 75 CPEUs if you are an RD or 50
CPEUs if you are a DTR. All must be related to your goals.
You can do this online at www.cdrnet.org or you can also mail it in to CDR and keep one copy in your binder.
Remember, your Learning Plan must be approved by CDR no later than 120
days after the date of your certificate for completing a home study
program. programs which have certificates dated prior to the 120 days
will not be accepted by CDR.
For example: Your certificate for a completed program is dated 4/15/2015,
your Learning Plan must be approved before 8/14/2015. If your certificate
is dated 4/15/2015 and your Learning Plan is approved on 9/14/2015 your
CPEUs will not be accepted by CDR.
Step 4. Maintain your Learning Activities Log
CDR would like you to complete this log as you complete your CPEUs.
For the programs that you do with us we will make your life much easier.
First of all we will send you a Certificate of Completion for every
program you complete with us which you can file in your binder. In addition,
as a value added service, we will track your credits for you. If you
do programs with us all you do is contact us before the end of your five
year period and we will send you a summary report that you can use to
complete this report.
Once you have all your credits completed (75 RDs, 50 DTRs) you can complete Step 4 online at www.cdrnet.org. or if you prefer you can mail your
completed forms to CDR and keep a copy for your file. Be sure to submit Step 4 only after
all your credits have been completed. CDR does not accept partial submissions.
You are almost done.
5. Learning plan evaluation
Complete this form to help you start planning for your next five-year
cycle. Keep this form in your own file. That's all there is to it!
By the way it is important that you keep your forms in one place. I
suggest that you keep it in the nice binder CDR has sent you. That way
if you are audited you will have everything together.
If you need an official answer to you questions call CDR at 1-800-877-1600
xt. 5500 or go to http://www.cdrnet.org. and look for most frequently asked questions about the Professional Development
Portfolio (PDP) Process.
Q: Do I have to complete a certain number of credits per year?
A: No, not for CDR. For CDR you must complete 75 CPEUs/5 years if you
are an RD and 50 CPEUs/5 years if you are a DTR. As far is CDR is concerned
you can complete all of your requirements in the first or the last year.
However you may have additional requirements if you are licensed. Check
with your state licensure board.
Q: Who will track my completed CPEUs?
A: You will have to do that. Or you can do your programs with us and
we will, as a value added service, track your credits for you. However
you still have to submit to CDR the completed Learning Activities Log (Step
4), you can do this on-line at www.cdrnet.org or if you prefer you can mail it to them as well.
Q: How do I know what learning activity fits with my learning needs?
A: Each one of our programs listed on our website or catalog specifies
the learning need code that applies to that specific program. For example
our program C256 "Goals: Your Road Map to Success" is appropriate for Codes 1000, 1010, 1110, 1120. You can use programs of any level for every
Level (1, 2 or 3) that you specified in your Portfolio.
Q: Can I change my learning plan?
A: Yes. However you must notify CDR of the change. To avoid doing that,
we suggest that you make your learning goals broad enough to accommodate
a wide variety of activities. (Pick learning codes that end in 000.)
Q: Can I meet all of my CPE requirements by doing home-study programs?
A: Yes, as far as CDR is concerned. In fact if you do them all with
us, you don't have to track your completed programs. We will, as a value
added service, track your credits for you. However you may have different
requirements if you are licensed. Check with your state licensure board.
Q: I'm still confused & have a few more questions?
A: If you have specific questions it may be best to contact CDR directly at 1-800-877-1600 or go to www.cdrnet.org. You can contact us and we will do our best to help you as well, however, CDR is your credentialling board so they would have the best, most current & accurate up to date information.
Q: How many learning goals do I need to submit to CDR?
A: At least one or as many as you like. Keep in mind that fewer goals
are easier to manage.
Q: How many learning need codes do I need to specify for each goal?
A: As few or as many as you like. To keep the process simple you may
want to specify only the first Learning Need Code in each category.
For example, if the category of "Laboratory Test - 3060" meets
one of your learning goals, you may want to specify Learning Need Code
3000- Nutrition Assessment instead, since it covers 3060 and nine other
codes 3010 to 3100.
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