CDR Self-Study Requirement

Effective January 1, 2020, the Competency Assurance Panel (CAP) of the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR) has implemented a new self-study requirement.  CDR shared the following rationale and process/procedure:

CDR recognized that although professionals may learn new information from a variety of resources including those originally designed for a lay audience, they must employ critical thinking skills in order to evaluate and apply new learning to enhance their practice competency.

As an additional quality measure, CDR has designed a critical thinking tool template to assist practitioners in reflecting on their new learning and its application to their practice competency while completing self-study products. CDR is requiring that all self-study providers include this tool as a mandatory component of their self-study products. CPE providers may personalize this template tool to include the provider name and the self-study product title; however the entire content of the tool which includes the background information and all of the questions must remain. This critical thinking tool is intended to be an additional evaluation and reflective component of a self-study and should not be viewed as a substitute for any evaluation forms that are currently used by you as product improvement tools.

CDR is requiring that the self-assessment and critical thinking tool be submitted to the provider in order to retain a certificate of completion from the self-study provider. CDR credentialed practitioners must also retain one copy of the completed tool for each self-study product completed for their records to be submitted to CDR if audited. The original is to be submitted to the self-study provider in order to receive the provider issued certificate of completion.

NOTE:  This does not impact self-study, recorded webinars that were originally presented "live."

What you need to do for self-study activities that occurred prior to January 1, 2020:

There is no change to how or what you submit.

What you need to do for new self-study newsletter quizzes that are published after January 1, 2020:

  • You must complete answer the questions as presented and tied to the self-study activity, which includes the Critical Thinking Evaluation Tool questions.  (When you link to submit information, you will go to the correct form).
  • All questions require answers.  Failure to answer the questions means you will NOT receive CPEU documentation.
  • You need to archive your responses to these questions for each self-study submission.

If you have questions regarding this new requirement, please email CDR or call (800-877-1600, extension 5500).