Most farm RAMAs are required to gain 24 compulsory farm CPD points within their overall point target, by 30 June 2023. More details on this are in the page on the subject.

In order to maintain their status, RAMAs must achieve a minimum number of CPD points during each AMTRA CPD period.

Currently each CPD period runs for two years. The current CPD period, "CPD period 7", runs from 1 July 2021 until 30 June 2023. Points must be earned during that period – points earned near the end of the period may not be added to your record until after 30 June 2023, but the important thing is to have earned them by 30 June 2023.

The same deadline applies to everyone, including those who qualify after the start of the CPD period.

During each CPD period, each person must earn a minimum number of CPD points. The number of points that each RAMA type will be required to obtain during each CPD period is indicated below.

Anyone who qualifies before the end of 2021 will need to get the full number of points shown. Those who become a RAMA in 2022 will need only achieve half the number of points given below by June 2023; those who become a RAMA in the first half of 2023 will have no formal CPD obligation for this period. (See also the following answers on full allocation of points, and on adding modules, for more details.)

There is no maximum number of CPD points – everyone is encouraged to undertake as much CPD as they can

Additionally, most farm RAMAs must gain at least 24 points towards their compulsory farm total – these points count towards the overall total too.

Those who qualify part-way through a CPD period should attain the following points:

• Those who qualify with less than 6 months of the CPD period remaining (i.e. during the first half of 2023): no formal CPD obligation.
• Those who qualify with more than 18 months of the CPD period remaining (i.e. by 31 December 2021 in the case of the current CPD period): full CPD points obligation.
• Those who qualify part-way through the CPD period (i.e. during 2022): half the normal CPD points obligation.

Those absent due to maternity leave or long-term sick leave:

• for 6 to 18 months in the current CPD Period then CPD points obligation is halved.
• for more than 18 months in the current CPD Period, the CPD obligation is waived.

You may be required to produce appropriate documentary evidence of maternity leave or long-term sick leave. We cannot confirm any reduction in point target for maternity leave or long-term sick leave until you return to work – otherwise we don’t know how long you were absent.

Farm RAMAs who first qualify to join the AMTRA Register after 2021, or who gain the farm-animal element of their qualification after 2021, are not required to do the compulsory farm CPD in this CPD period (though are encouraged to do so).

Farm RAMAs who gain a CPD points reduction due to maternity leave, long-term sick leave or other exceptional factors, are not required to do the compulsory farm CPD in this CPD period (though are encouraged to do so).

Some people add additional species modules after they first become AMTRA qualified - this might be a career progression, or the other module exams may have been failed at the first attempt.

Additional CPD points are added to the total needed, consistent with the principle of half points or no points for part-way through the CPD period, as described in the previous two answers.

The number of CPD points required is best illustrated by an unusual example:

• Chris passes the Base and Companion Animal modules in 2021, becomes a companion-animal RAMA (in the "C" category), and thus needs 30 CPD points.
• She passes the Equine module in 2022 to become a RAMA in the "E" category: as that is between 6 and 18 months from the end of the CPD period, her additional points requirement is half of the difference between RAMAs in the "C" and "E" categories, i.e. an extra 10, making 40 in all.
• Finally, she passes the Farm Animal module in early 2023: as that is less than 6 months from the end of the CPD period, there is no additional CPD points obligation, so the total required stays at 40.

From July 2023, her points requirement will be the full 80 for a RAMA in the "R" category for the following two years. It's not essential to understand this calculation - your personal points target is on every points update from AMTRA.

Anyone who does not meet their points target by the end of the CPD period (i.e. earned by 30 June 2023), will not be permitted to renew their AMTRA status for the following year (i.e. 2024). The points need to be earned by the deadline date, but as always there will a delay before they are added to your record – the requirement is to earn the points by the end of the CPD period, not have them on the record at that date.

AMTRA offers a "revalidation viva" to demonstrate ongoing competency for those who haven’t gained enough points by the deadline, but passing the assessment is challenging and relatively costly, so that option should not be relied upon.

The easiest way is to log in to your AMTRA record - on the AMTRA website just click 'Login' in the top right-hand corner. If you've forgotten your password, you can use the login page to request another password be sent to you.

CPD points earned are added to each person's records when they are received from the CPD provider. You are advised of the number of CPD points you have accumulated from time to time. If we have an email address for you then we will send you an update every time your record is updated – another good reason to ensure that we always have an up-to-date email address that will reach you directly – but if we only have a postal address for you, we will send you an update approximately every two months.

If you haven’t received a points update within the last two months, please contact us: perhaps we are sending it by email but you aren’t receiving it for some reason.

If there are points missing, please contact the organisation or company that provided the CPD - but do leave them six weeks after the event to advise AMTRA of points earned and for AMTRA to process the information received. Please don't contact AMTRA regarding missing points (unless it was an AMTRA event). If the points are wrong rather than simply missing, please email, fax or write to us with details of which points are wrong.

a) Attending AMTRA-accredited CPD seminars – the seminars need not be run by AMTRA (most aren't) but must be accredited by AMTRA in advance. Most CPD nowadays is done online, and webinars / online seminars, whether recorded or live, count in the same way as face-to-face seminars.

b) Distance learning supported by multiple choice quizzes – i.e. by reading or watching supportive material and answering sets of accredited questions, such as online or in magazines.

c) Personal study – this may be of AMTRA training modules, updated Code of Practice, magazine articles, IT expertise, etc. AMTRA recognises the increasing professionalism of its RAMAs and will accept a degree of self-certification of this form of CPD. However, only 5 points may be allocated to personal study in any CPD period. RAMAs are required to maintain a record of this activity for inspection if required.

d) Relevant Further Education or Higher Educational qualifications – RAMAs gaining a relevant FE or HE qualification within the CPD period may claim one CPD point for each academic credit. Evidence of the qualification will be required, and should be submitted along with the FE/HE CPD points claim form (available on the AMTRA website or from the AMTRA office).

See also Q16 if you are a vet nurse or pharmacy professional.

CPD seminars and other studies will be accredited and allocated points by AMTRA, taking input as needed from AMTRA Assessors and others to advise on the CPD seminars and studies submitted by third parties. The number of points allocated will be based on the duration and content of the seminar or study.

Only if the events or distance learning take place at least 12 months apart. This applies even if the two occasions are in different CPD periods – they must be more than 12 months apart.

However, you may gain points for similar topics from different CPD providers – for instance, both providers may be talking about equine parasitology, but the discussion and emphasis given will be different and the result is complementary, whereas there is much less additional benefit from hearing the same presentations twice in a short period.

Generally we will spot duplicates before they are added to your record, but if we spot them later we will remove the points and notify you – do not rely on duplicated points to reach your points target.

Accredited CPD organisers provide AMTRA with details (name & AMTRA number) of those who attended the whole seminar with the number of points accredited to the seminar, together with a signed attendance sheet or equivalent. Those marking distance-learning supported by multiple-choice questions provide AMTRA with the names & AMTRA numbers, together with the number of CPD points gained, of those answering the questions. RAMAs can each claim up to 5 CPD points for personal study in each CPD period. RAMAs should keep appropriate records as they may be asked for details of personal study following the close of the current CPD period.

We also strongly recommend that everyone completing AMTRA-accredited CPD keeps a record of what they did (ideally including the AMTRA accreditation reference, if available) and when, and any evidence (certificate, email confirmation, etc). This may be helpful in resolving any discrepancies.

No – the whole purpose of CPD is to ensure that you keep up-to-date.

No – CPD is by its nature a post-qualification process. It would also be very difficult to differentiate between training to support the qualification and accreditable CPD, meaning that the majority of those qualifying would have enough CPD pointed accumulated for their first CPD period, something AMTRA does not wish to see.