Australian Society of Cytology

Continuing Education for Cytotechnologists
(CEC) Program

Questions and Answers

Here are a few questions and answers about the CEC Program.

Question : How will you encourage people to enrol in the Scheme and what will motivate cytotechnologists to use our program to help them keep up to date?

Firstly, we have attempted to design a user friendly system; one that has good flexibility so that it will be accepted and practiced equally by all, be they working in small isolated laboratories or larger metropolitan-based cytology units. We reasoned that as continuing education for health professionals has now become an expectation of government, the professions and even the public, this expectation would in itself be a major encouragement to enrol. While some continuing education schemes charge significant enrolment fees, the Society has decided that our scheme would be free to its members. (Non-members can expect to pay an annual enrolment fee in excess of the ASC membership fee). So here is another attraction to participate. Furthermore, we plan to recognise the effort by way of an annual participation certificate.

Question: The NPAAC Requirements for Gynaecological (Cervical) Cytology clearly state that "the laboratory must maintain a record of individual staff members continuing education programs". Surely it is the responsibility of laboratory supervisors to document continuing education activities of their staff, isn't it?

Laboratory supervisors should document group activities which form part of an in-house education program in order to comply with this requirement and NATA accreditation. However it would not be their responsibility or nor would it be possible for them to document individual activities e.g. journal readings etc., nor a diary of an individuals total activities (as the CEC diary does). Cytotechnologists are professionals and therefore have a responsibility to maintain the skills necessary for undertaking diagnostic cytology.

Question : How will people who are not working cope with this scheme, especially if participation in such schemes becomes an expectation of employers?

People who are unemployed for a period, for whatever reason, are unlikely to find a barrier because they lack immediate past enrolment in such a scheme. In the event that participation in continuing education is required by management, this could easily be addressed by employers recognising that a commitment to re-enrol by the individual could be a condition of employment.

Question : What kind of audit is going to be conducted?

While being user friendly, the CEC Scheme must be credible to other outside agencies such as employing authorities and accreditation bodies such as NPAAC and NATA. Therefore, from the beginning we have put in place an audit. A random 20% of participants will be asked to send in a photocopy of their full diary records for that particular year so that the Registrar can monitor that proper compliance is being met. This is not meant to be threatening, but its operation should encourage serious participation, especially in the aspect of diary keeping. This audit process should also assist the ASC monitor the Scheme.

Question : How do I know if a particular activity meets the credit guidelines?

Generally speaking, if by doing activities you learn or relearn some aspect of cytology, it should be acceptable. If in doubt you can ask your in-house co-ordinator for advice. It is a feature of our scheme that there is no provision for formal pre-assessment of activities by the A.S.C.

Question : Do I have to obtain evidence other than just recording in my diary of my continuing education activity?

This is not a requirement, however if items such as course participation certificates are available, this would help you develop a more complete diary of your continuing education activity.

Question: Do I need to show my diary to my supervisor, employer or in-house co-ordinator?

No, the diary is your record and only the A.S.C. has the right to see the content.

Question: I am only employed part-time. How will this affect my ability to take part in the Scheme?

Firstly, we have agreed to allocate identical credit points for part-time or full-time employment (200 points). The flexibility of being able to chose any 4 out of 8 types of activity provides an opportunity to meet all varied work situations.

Question: How will I know if I am doing the right kind of continuing education? What kind of feed-back will the Scheme provide me with?

This will take two forms: Firstly, the Registrar will gather the yellow data sheet from all enrollees and, at least once a year, you will be given a profile of your activity as compared to the peer group. Secondly, you will be issued with a certificate of participation for that year.

Question: When can I enrol?

Enrolment can take place at any time of the year by completing the proper enrolment form and forwarding it to the Registrar. It is planned to regularly publish the enrolment form in Cytoletter. You will then be sent your diary and given an enrolment number. The diary is designed to keep records for several years of continuing educational activity.

Question: Why is it necessary to submit a half yearly data sheet to the CEC Registry; can this data be submitted once a year for analysis?

The Working Party considered that submission of data twice yearly would provide greater impetus for registrants to participate in educational activities throughout the year. In a busy work environment it is sometimes easy to forget your responsibilities regarding on-going education and there may be a tendency to delay this commitment. It is not a requirement that you gain half the number of annual credit points at this half yearly assessment but analysing the number of credits you have obtained will provide you with an indication of your requirements for the latter half of the year.

Question: Some Medical Scientists working in cytology already participate in the APACE Scheme offered by the Australian Institute of Medical Scientists. Will participation in this scheme be recognised by the ASC?

The CEC Scheme is voluntary and as a Medical Scientist you could take the view that your continuing education activity is adequately covered by your involvement in the APACE Scheme. Accrediting bodies such as NATA and NPAAC could see this compliance as meeting their requirements. However, the ASC can only recognise activities recorded in the CEC Diary.

Question: I will be away on maternity leave during the latter half of the year. What happens in these situations?

If you feel that you will be unable to maintain your continuing education during your absence from work your participation in the scheme will temporarily lapse. It is important that you write to the Registrar explaining the circumstances and a pro-rata credit adjustment will be made. Pro-rata credit adjustments will not be made for other forms of leave such as annual leave or long service leave.

Question: I work part-time and am unable to attend the weekly seminar which is held in the laboratory. I believe it is unfair that I am discriminated against in this way.

You will have to choose learning activities from other categories to gain the minimum annual credit requirement. You need to remember that you are gaining the same number of credits for employment as your full-time colleagues and this has been deliberate to help compensate individuals such as yourself with regard credit accumulation.

Question: I am undertaking some developmental work in the laboratory with the view of improving a cytopreparatory technique. Can I claim this activity under participation in approved research?

You could claim under this category if the project has a clearly defined protocol and has been officially approved by the Head of Cytology. In these situations you would most likely be a member of a research team. Publication of the results of the study would be a desirable aim and you would be expected to be an author or at least receive acknowledgment for your contribution. If these requirements do not meet your circumstances you cannot claim credits under this category. However, any reading or literature searches etc could be documented and count towards your total credit accumulation.

Question: It usually only takes 5-10 minutes to read a case presentation. After this I need to complete a full individual CEC activity diary entry sheet which is very time consuming. Besides, the credit allocation on this activity is negligible. What can I do in these circumstances?

You could group case presentations on one page in your diary. Number the main reference sources and use corresponding numbers in your summary section to indicate what you learnt from reading each short article.

Question: Is it necessary to complete diary entries every time I complete an activity or can I delay documentation until a more convenient time?

Depending on personal preferences you may find it easier to schedule documentation as a separate task. Set aside a period once a week, say 15-30 minutes, to complete the paperwork. In these situations you need to ensure that you remember the time spent on each task and have details about your learning activity, such as reference sources, for accurate documentation.

Question: A staff member has the responsibility to search for interesting web sites on the internet and collate and list these sites for distribution to colleagues. Can this activity, which is performed on behalf of others in the laboratory, be claimed?

Yes. The time taken to search and collate this information is claimable under category 2 (Computer based learning activity). Those individuals who visit these sites at a later date for learning purposes can also claim under this activity.

Question: A staff member has the responsibility to search journals for interesting articles and collate and list these articles for distribution to colleagues. Can this activity, which is performed on behalf of others in the laboratory, be claimed?

As explained above, the time to search and collate this information is claimable. This educational activity should be claimed under category 5 (Literature search).

Question: A cytotechnologist has prepared a series of interesting cases for discussion using the multi-header microscope. The same set of cases will be presented to more than one group of cytotechnologists in separate sessions. Can the teacher claim for each of these teaching sessions.

Yes. However, the teacher can only claim once for preparation of this material and this is claimed under category 5 (Teaching, oral and poster preparation). The teacher can claim for the time spent imparting his/her knowledge during each microscope session. The interaction that occurs during sessions such as these could be considered a learning experience for the person presenting the cases.

Question: I have been asked to prepare a workshop for one of our local meetings. This involves retrieving cases, screening smears to determine their suitability and summarising the main diagnostic features on the slide packet. Can I claim for this activity?

Yes. This activity can be claimed under category 5 (Teaching, oral and poster presentation). You could also claim for attendance at the workshop under category 8 (Formal lecture/workshop) for the reasons outlined in the previous answer.

Question: Some cytology laboratories perform tests that are not usually offered by the majority of laboratories. Some examples of these tests would include semen and synovial fluid analyses. Can the educational activities associated with these tests be claimed?

If it is the policy of the laboratory to offer these test then it is important staff have sufficient knowledge and expertise to perform these tests. Therefore, any educational activity associated with such tests would be claimable.

Question: Occasionally I supervise practical classes at a tertiary institution. I understand that the preparation I do prior to each class is claimable but what about the contact hours spent supervising students in this practical class?

The time spent supervising students during a practical class would be considered a learning experience. This time can be claimed under Group CEC Activities (category 7 or 8 depending whether the class is internal or external).

Question: Can I claim credits for supervising students during an examination eg CT(ASC) or CT(IAC)?

No. There is no learning interaction between a student or supervisor during an examination. You can only claim for the educational activities you have been involved in while preparing the student for the examination.

Question: Is it envisaged that you will be able to gain credits for attainment of certain qualifications eg CT(ASC) or CT(IAC)?

It is unlikely that this will be recognised as part of the scheme at this stage. However, the leaning activities you are involved in while preparing to sit these examinations is claimable.

Question: I registered for the scheme in June. Can I backdate my diary entries to the beginning of the year?

The CEC cycle runs from January to December. Depending on when you join the scheme a pro-rata adjustment is made to your employment credits. A similar adjustment is made to the minimum annual requirement of points which is currently 600 credits for a full year. Consequently it is important that you only record learning activities from the date of registration.

Question: The requirement for participants to validate their educational activities by describing what was learned is time consuming. What happens if the participant does not learn anything from a particular activity or learns a lot which cannot be adequately summarised in a few sentences? Participants may also be reading extensively on a specific topic where recording what was learned becomes very repetitive.

If you feel you have not learned anything from a particular activity then you should state this. If you learnt a lot from an activity, then just list the most important points. It was never intended that you write extensive notes in the diary, otherwise more space would have been allocated per page. Just record enough "memory prompts" to facilitate recall at a later date. It you are reading extensively on a particular topic and the same learning points are being reinforced then just refer to the main diary page eg "see diary page entry for reference Acta Cytologica, 1995; 40: 23-25".

Question: Everyone has their own systems of note taking which allows them to easily access information when required. Including a summary in the CEC diary is a duplication of the notes already made which seems to be unnecessary and time consuming.

As mentioned above, list the pertinent points learned. An audit will be carried out on diaries so it is important that the auditor can see what you have learnt from participating in a particular activity. Entries should not be a duplication of extensive notes documented elsewhere. You may want to consider setting up an additional folder, notebook or file where you store these comprehensive notes. After you list the pertinent points in the diary you may decide to refer to these lengthy notes as part of your diary entry.

Question: There appears to be some variation in the way individuals interpret the CEC categories. This results in discrepancies in the way that participants claim credit for particular activities (either intentionally or unintentionally) and consequently some individuals feel that this is unfair.

The CEC Scheme has recently been revised and notes have been included to assist participants to select the correct category for recording their educational activities. Hopefully this will minimise some of the confusion that has been apparent in the first year of operation of the Scheme. We also need to remember that individuals who intentionally abuse the system are disadvantaging themselves. The scheme has not been designed to foster intense competition between individuals but to assist you in meeting your continuing educational responsibilities.

The Registrar of the CEC Program invites comment regarding the continuing education program. Suggestions can be e-mailed to the Registrar, CEC Program via the ASC office or forwarded by post to:

The Registrar
CEC Program
Australian Society of Cytology Inc.
PO Box 491
North Adelaide, South Australia, 5006
Telephone: (08) 8361 7233
Fax: (08) 8361 7357

Continuing Education for Cytotechnologists (CEC) Program