FAQ Guide to the CPDme Website
If you have a question that is not answered in this FAQ list or discover a bug in our system, please use our Contact Form.
Will CPDme benefit me?
I'm worried about the safety of sensitive Portfolio information. Is It safe?
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We have thousands of members subscribed to CPDme in various health and social care professions from the NHS, Private Sector, Voluntary Sector, Armed Forces and Emergency Services. CPDme, although initially designed for the HPC Registered Professions, is a very useful tool to help develop and monitor personal CPD in any health or social care profession and keep it to a format that is future proof. Meaning that whatever your role, CPDme will format your finished portfolio personalised to your requirements either to contain within your PDP File or to use for a potential interview. Our staff are all experienced and current Paramedics, Nurses and Social Workers. CPDme is 100% owned and operated by health & social care professionals and is purely designed to ensure that you embrace CPD and lifelong learning. We don't make up information for you but we do ensure that each portfolio we help you to produce is personal and designed around your own development and career requirements. Question?
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There are Free CPD Builders, why should I pay?
That is true, there are two or three free services out there and without going into tribal mode. You only get what you pay for. Our CPDme Portfolio BoltOn will produce a very smart and academic looking document that is personally overseen by our staff. This ensures two things 1) any obvious mistakes are noted and we will email you and alert you to this 2) our portfolio can be printed in the set standard layout required by governing and professional bodies. This saves you copying and pasting evidence and information from the website to a word document. We often get people migrating from the free sites after they have spent hours / weeks creating a profile unfit for purpose. This is when our dedicated staff are available around the clock to offer support when you need it most. Migrating to a dedicated portfolio and development service that is dedicated to helping you.
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What are the new features?
The new features are ongoing but the most common 20 are listed in our Blog. The Number 1 feature requested was to log in, edit, save, review and print. This facility is now added to our site.
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Can I preview my submitted information?
Yes. Your Personal Portfolio is where you can view, edit and save your portfolio contents as and when you require. You can also view your Online CPD Diary and reflective practice from here
This can be found within your Personal Portfolio but will not become active until you submit your first online CPD Diary Update or Reflective Practice form. The link will self update after this enabling you to view and print your diary, reflection or your last requested complete portfolio.
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How can I access my Portfolio to edit?
To edit your Portfolio once logged in, just above the Login box on the left should be an option to VIEW PORTFOLIO.
Click this which should take you to your Personal Portfolio section where you can edit, make changes, save or print your ongoing portfolio.
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Building your Portfolio - How it works
We suggest you make a new folder within your mail provider, to file all of you submissions, and either print them out and make up your folder as you are going along, or leave them there to print out all at once when required. Each time you make a submission, you will receive an email back, with your information in a formatted table within the email. You can simply print this page. Alternatively, you can copy and paste the table into a running word document if you are happy with formatting to fit the page etc (landscape A4 makes formatting easier using this method). The profile page has a print icon on it, which you can print out at any time to finish your portfolio. This is how your portfolio is brought together by using our site. Portfolio BoltOns will have the portfolio professionally formatted and printed by CPDme staff, but it is always useful to go through the above process, so you can see yourself how your file is progressing, and what standards and subjects you may need to look further at developing.
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Can personal information be easily edited?
Yes. All the Sections within your Portfolio can be easily edited. The only documents that can't be edited live online are the CPD Diary Uploads. The reason for this is because it prevents people fabricating portfolios at the last minute in order to satisfy governing bodies such as the Health Professions Council (HPC) or the Nursing & Midwifery Council (NMC) when an audit is requested. If you want to amend a submission, simply copy and paste the changes into our members contact form detailing the changes from your preview, and we will amend the file accordingly. Alternatively re-submit and request we delete an event from your preview. This will then be available to view.
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Is there a guide to help me with my Portfolio?
Yes. Wherever you see this symbol .jpg)
click on it and you should have access to a download PDF/video that will help you complete or understand that section. We also have links to other professional websites that will help guide you and help you to understand what is required in order to satisfy certain criteria for presenting your portfolio for Audit.
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I've purchased a Silver or Gold package. Do I have to buy this again next year?
No. The Bronze, Silver and Gold packages have been simplified to basic packages for each profession. You can now add Bolt Ons to your basic package to get only the extra benefits you want.
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I use another provider's CPD, but I want to come over to use CPDme
The best way is to copy and paste the sections that you have developed and built on the other provider's website into the sections that are relevant on our site once you have joined. Alternatively, you can create a word document and copy all the contents into it by highlighting the work you have done, right clicking and copy. Then paste (right click on your mouse and paste, or press CONTROL + V on your keyboard) the contents directly into our site or onto your blank word document using the relevant sections. This allows you time to sort out your portfolio and decide if anything needs updating. If you need a personal assistant to help you, we would recommend the One 2 One Mentor Bolt On.
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I have submitted a diary entry, but want to delete or amend it?
Go to the Members Section and at the bottom is the Members Contact Form. This is a dedicated form that should be used for all member communication. The sections that you need to complete are as follows:
If you want to amend a submission, simply copy and paste the changes into our members contact form detailing the changes from your preview, and we will amend the file accordingly. Alternatively, re-submit and request we delete an event from your preview. This will then be available to view in your profile.
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Does it matter if I use a Mac or PC?
The new website is built using Apple Mac Computers and all our staff use Macs. However, the platform is designed to be viewed and edited on both Windows and Mac. The reason we chose Mac over PC is for the reliability factor and our servers are less likely to suffer viral infections and attacks. The Website is also compatible with web browsers: Google Chrome, Explorer, Safari and others. If you are having problems with viewing or accessibility issues please contact our Technical Support Team.
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How can I pay for CPDme and do I need a PayPal account ?
In order to buy membership you need either a credit or debit card or set up a Standing Order (membership fees are reduced by 50% for subsequent years when paying by SO). PayPal process our payments but you DO NOT need to open a PayPal account to buy membership. Read the instructions when you choose your membership and this will advise you that PayPal accounts are optional. We also offer a bank transfer facility although please contact us to arrange this. Alternatively, please select alternative payment when signing up and download the Standing Order form attached to your invoice which you will receive by email.
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I'm worried about the safety of sensitive Portfolio information. Is It safe?
In today's online environment it is essential that the software and web-based solutions you choose to manage your portfolio be safe and secure. Security is our top priority and you can be confident your information is protected.
At CPDme you can:
- Rely on a high level security system, designed and maintained by a dedicated team of IT professionals and regularly updated.
- Stay effortlessly up-to-date. As long as you're a member, CPDme continues to provide new versions of security via the web. Data is converted automatically and ready for you when you log in.
- Use only HTTPS Forms and Data Retrieval Servers to include Apple's Secure iCloud.
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Yes. Each submission you send is backed up three times during submission. Firstly by the website, second by the form building software and third by our local Apple server. This ensures that we never loose any of your submissions. The new feature is that we also email back to you a copy of all your submissions. We recommend that you keep these in an email folder named CPDme or Portfolio. This should also be safe as most web-based email providers use SSL Security.
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Do I have to join and pay for CPDme?
The answer to this question is that it's entirely up to you. The advantages are huge when the cost of membership is less than £2 per month. If you feel like you want to manage your own development or can create a professional looking CPD Portfolio alone, then we will understand. However, if you want 24 hour support and a team of academics who won't let you struggle building your evidence and creating a true academic style portfolio, then maintain your membership with CPDme. If you decide to leave after your 12 months, you will have an up-to-date portfolio of all your submissions. We will then save your information for 3 months in the event you return or lose your information. After this we will safely dispose of your information and you will no longer have access to any links, certificates, files or folders stored by CPDme. See our terms & conditions for more details.
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Can I cancel membership at anytime?
You can cancel your membership if ever you feel the need to. The Membership Creation Process takes 48 hours, after this time an admin fee (50% of your membership cost) will be deducted from your payment should you cancel or request a refund. We understand however that CPDme is not suited for everyone thus will refund 100% within 7 days of payment submission. This is also stated in the Communications Policy that you need to agree to on entering the Members Section of the website.
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Will the HPC / NMC accept my Portfolio?
This is a question we are often asked, the answer however remains the same. We cannot guarantee that your Portfolio will be accepted by the HPC or the NMC as the work contained within your Portfolio in relation to meeting your set standards is down to you. This may or may not be to the standard required by the assessor of these bodies. Following the forms provided within CPDme prompt you to log your learning in a formatted manner, prompting you to expand on the reasons behind undertaking the study, and what you have gained from it. All forms and templates are built to assist you with this in the best possible way.
All our staff are UK Health Professionals and it is against their ethics, professional duty and conduct to help fabricate contents within a member's portfolio. This is a personal task that should be created by you. We never make additions, edit or change your submissions, only offer academic and mentorship advice. Submissions and meeting CPD standards are personal to you and must reflect your own work. Our advice is that it's important that you make familiar all the documents surrounding your CPD requirements for renewing and maintaining your association and membership of governing bodies / agencies.
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Can I use my iPhone / iPad to access CPDme?
The new website is classified as iPhone friendly which means over 90% of the features are available and operate well on the iPhone 3 and iPhone 4. The reason some of the logos and icons are supersize is for this exact reason. Some of our members also said that they would like to do updates to their CPD Diary via the iPhone. We are pleased to announce that this is now possible and also that we have two developers currently working on a free members application that will allow you to log in and add information to your portfolio. Please report iPhone bugs to support@cpdme.com
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How will I know if I've done enough work?
Our members with the One 2 One Mentor BoltOn can ask our staff to view their sections and see if they look complete. This will then be viewed by a Bachelor Degree level Health Professional who will again oversee that the content is substantial and makes good sense. It's not about your work being academic, it's about substantiating the evidence to meet the required learning outcome. No one expects you to write degree level work. Just quality and quantity that is substantial to the fact. If you haven't submitted a log for a while, we may now and then send you a message to remind you. Please don't take offence at this and you can always opt out of messages via your personal profile. Also check you profile as sometimes we will make comments at the bottom relating to your membership / portfolio.
Advice from CPDme is private to your portfolio/ membership, unless you make it public.
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