About Continuing Professional Development

Continuing professional development (CPD) and serving as a Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (Royal College) accredited CPD provider are key activities of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society (CCS). Together, these activities directly support the missions of the CCS and the CPD Committee. Accredited programs are an integral part of the Canadian Cardiovascular Society and underpin the commitment to sustaining the highest standards of education in specialty medicine.

CPD Committee Mission:

To improve patient care and strengthen the clinical practice of Canadian cardiovascular health care professionals by enhancing their knowledge, skills, and competence through effective, needs-based continuing professional development (CPD) initiatives and interventions that deliver quality education based on the current guidelines, research, and best practices. 

CPD Committee Vision:

National leadership in improving cardiovascular health outcomes through excellence and innovation in CPD education.

CPD Committee Values:

As CPD leaders, the CCS is committed to the following core values:

CPD Committee:

CPD Committee’s Aims and Goals:

The CCS will continue to strengthen its role as a leader in CPD education and knowledge translation by aggregating and disseminating leading-edge research, clinical expertise, and guidelines. As such, the CPD Committee will:  

• Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment of the CCS’ CPD program at least once every three (3) years – or as determined necessary by the changing landscape of CPD – to identify the current educational needs and priorities of CCS members;   
• Enhance the accessibility, quality, and engagement of CCS educational programs by using a variety of learning formats and platforms to deliver at least twenty (20) needs-based CPD activities per year for cardiovascular health care professionals that are distributed across the CanMEDS Physician Competency Framework and are scientifically integral, objective, and balanced;   
• Collaborate with a minimum of five (5) other organizations and CCS Standing Committees every year to foster the creation and dissemination of robust interprofessional CPD education;  
• Accredit at least thirty (30) CPD activities annually and provide accessible information, policies, and support that is in line with the National Standard for Support of Accredited CPD Activities, Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada Activity Accreditation Standards, and CMA Guidelines for Physicians in Interaction with Industry;  
• Annually assess the CPD program’s resources and processes against CCS and industry standards to ensure we are delivering the highest quality of education, including its alignment with: CCS’ Mission and Guiding Principles, recent medical education innovations and updates, legal requirements on the protection of privacy, confidentiality, and copyright, and ethical standards in sponsor interactions;    
• Position CCS members as CPD leaders in their field by ensuring at least 50% of faculty for all programs are CCS members representing diverse backgrounds and experiences;   
• Evaluate the effectiveness and impact of every CCS CPD activity within one month of delivery to determine their degree of effectiveness and impact, utilizing metrics such as participant registration, engagement, feedback, and assessment results; and,   
• Engage with key stakeholders to communicate program deliverables, learnings, and evaluation findings, and collaboratively identify and prioritize at least three (3) continuous improvement initiatives for the upcoming fiscal year.