Frequently Asked Questions

United Kingdom · CPD courses & CPD points · Health Professionals

What is Calabash?

Calabash is a platform that allows health professionals to watch interesting and relevant videos online and acquire CPD points.

What are CPD/CEU Points?

Continuing Professional Development Points (CPDs) or Continuing Educational Units (CEUs) are required by many professions to maintain their respective registration and ability to practice. CPD and CEUs are the same thing, but are called different things depending on the country or professional body you are registered with.

How do I get CPD points?

CPD points can be obtained by engaging in professional development activities which have been accredited for CPD points. For health professionals in South Africa, activities are accredited by bodies licensed by the HPCSA to accredit these activities. After completing the activity, you should receive a CPD certificate with your name, your HPCSA accreditation number, the name of the talk, the speaker, the date you completed the activity, the number of CPD points for the activity, and the specific accreditation number assigned to that activity.

How many CPD points do I need?

This depends on your country of accreditation, and every system is different. You should consult your professional body to understand more. In South Africa, health professionals are required to earn 30 CPDs per year, or 60 CPDs over a 2-year period, of which 5 points per year must be specifically ethics-related. You can keep track of your CPDs on your Calabash dashboard.

Are Calabash talks accredited for CPD points?

Yes, most of them are. You should refer to the accreditation tab on each talk to view the valid accreditations. You will also see a tag such as "3 points" or similar on talk cards or on a talk page where the talk is accredited for you.

How do I receive my CPDs?

Once your talk is completed, you will be emailed a certificate. You may also access the certificate at any time through your Calabash Profile, where it can be downloaded and stored on your computer.

How do accreditations work?

The content on the Calabash platform is accredited for CPDs. Each accreditation is valid for a certain amount of time, depending on the accrediting body and country of accreditation. We display this information to you for transparency, and in order for you to make an informed decision when purchasing content. Currently, all content is accredited for CPDs by the Health Professions Council of South Africa.

What happens if an accreditation is about to expire?

As a user, you will only be able to complete a talk and receive the corresponding certificate if the accreditation is valid at the time of completion. In other words, if the accreditation expires in 7 days, you will need to complete the talk and quiz (if required) by the end of that 7 days. You will get an email reminder if a talk you have purchased is about to expire.

Is my certificate valid after the expiration date?

In general, yes. However, this depends on the accreditation system in your country, and you should check and understand your obligations fully. For most countries, your certificate remains valid for one to two years after completion, even if the talk's accreditation expires during that time. In terms of the HPCSA, CPDs are valid for 2 years after completion of the activity.

Will a talk be re-accredited after expiration?

This depends entirely on the Partner responsible for the talk. We encourage our partners to keep their accreditations up to date and however, we do have some talks on the platform that don't have accreditation and are there for general interest. Please make sure to check the talk carefully before purchasing it.

What happens if I don't complete the talk before expiration?

The onus is on you, the user, to ensure that you complete talks within the requisite time. We do not accept responsibility for users who do not complete purchased talks before expiration, and do not issue refunds if they fail to do so. In an effort to avoid this, however, we will notify you of the talk's expiration in advance, and we actively engage with our Partners to ensure that they keep their content updated.

How do I watch a talk?

Once you have purchased the talk you go directly to the talk, where you can play the talk and, if you want, do the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ's) at the same time. All talks can be watched on your computer, phone or tablet and are available immediately after purchase.

How do Calabash quizzes work?

If a quiz is required for the talk you have purchased, you will need to complete it and pass in order to receive the accreditation certificate. You can view the talk at the same time as answering the quiz. If you want to exit the quiz, then you can press 'save and continue later' and your progress will be saved. In terms of the HPCSA, you are required to achieve 70%, and you have 3 attempts.

How do I complete the quiz?

Once you have purchased a talk, you will see the Complete Quiz button in your profile and on the talk page. You can complete the quiz while watching the video. If you have already successfully completed the quiz, you will not have the option to do so again.

What if the quiz is not required?

You will receive the accreditation certificate once you have watched the talk.

What if I fail the quiz?

You have a total of three opportunities to take the quiz. Should you fail the quiz, you may retake it immediately.

What if I need to stop watching the video part way through?

Your progress will be saved and when you return to the video and MCQ, you will continue with it where you left off.

How do I receive my accreditation?

Once your talk is completed, you will be emailed a certificate. You may also access the certificate at any time through your Calabash Profile.

How do I know if a talk is accredited for ethics CPD points?

On the bottom left of each talk card you can see and orange star labelled 'ethics'.

How do I acquire Calabash Credits?

When you sign up to a monthly subscription, you get a number of credits in your account at the start of each cycle. For example, if you sign up on the 7th of this month for a subscription, you will receive 10 credits on the 7th of each month.

You can also buy bundles which allows you to purchase large amounts of credits for a reduced rate to use when you want with no monthly commitment.

How do I use Calabash credits?

If you have enough credits in your account, you can purchase a talk with them. Purchasing a talk entitles you to watch the talk and receive the corresponding accredited certificate if it is applicable. To purchase a talk, simply sign in to your account and click the purchase button.

What if I don't have enough credits to purchase a talk?

If you have run out of credits, you can use Instant Purchase to buy a talk once-off. You can also buy a bundle of credits to use.

Do my credits expire?

Credits are valid for up to 365 days. If you have not used your credits within this time, they will automatically be deducted from your account after the expired time.

How do I check my credits?

Sign in to your account. You will see the amount of credits you have available at the top right, or you can view your profile dashboard to see more information.

What does it mean to become a subscriber? Are there any additional benefits to subscribing?

A subscriber pays a monthly fee of R360 and gets ten credits to use each month on a talk. The money comes off your card and the credits are instantly assigned to you.

This saves the time and hassle of finding relevant talks for you at a convenient time and place; and helps alleviate the big expenses that come with going to a workshop. Through subscriptions you should be able to get all your CPD points, including ethics points, each year.

Subscribers have access to exclusive content, talks and articles.

Subscribers also get the first ten credits free so they can test out the system before they commit.

There is a substantial saving on our talks when you subscribe, at least 17% on each talk, or R660/year. We may also throw in other discounts only for subscribers!

How do I cancel my subscription

Cancelling a subscription is easy and simple. Go to your dashboard and click on 'Manage Subscriptions', then 'Update Subscription', there you should see the option to cancel your subscription. The cancellation will take place immediately and there will be no further charges for you. You will keep any credits you have paid for, and still be able to access all your talks.

What if I am not a subscriber?

If you have not signed up for a monthly subscription, you can purchase a talk once-off. You will be charged for the talk once only, at the time of purchase. Thereafter, you will be able to access the talk through your account. If you wish to buy further talks, you will need to sign up for a subscription, buy a bundle or buy them individually through the Instant Purchase option.

Can I purchase talks without having a monthly subscription?

If you're not on a Calabash monthly subscription (or you've run out of credits), you can purchase talks once-off as you want them, or purchase a bundle to get more credits at a reduced rate. Instant Purchases allow you to do this.

How do I make an Instant Purchase?

In order to purchase a video once-off, you must first create a Calabash account. Simply sign up and confirm your details and you will have access to Calabash. When viewing a talk, click on the Instant Purchase button and you will be guided through the purchasing process.

How am I charged for an Instant Purchase?

During the purchasing process, you will be required to enter your credit card details. Your card will be charged once.

How long will I have access to the talk for?

Once purchased, you will be able to watch the talk at any point in time, unless the Partner requests the talk removed. If this happens, you will be informed 30 days in advance.

Can I still complete the accreditation?

Yes, all the same benefits apply to Instant Purchases as with Subscriptions.

Are my credit card details safe?

We do not store your credit card information. All transactions are processed securely through a third party payment gateway. If you provide us with your credit card information, the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL) and not stored on our servers. Although no method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, we follow all PCI-DSS requirements and implement additional generally accepted industry standards. Read our Privacy Policy for more information.

Are my personal details safe?

To protect your personal information, we take reasonable precautions and follow industry best practices to make sure it is not inappropriately lost, misused, accessed, disclosed, altered or destroyed. Read our Privacy Policy for more information.

My card has been declined, why is this? What do I do?

The most common reason that a card has been declined is because of a lack of funds or an expired card. If you are a subscriber, the system will alert you through a series of emails and try the card again a few times over a few days before cancelling your subscription. If you want to update or change your card details, you can update your subscription through your dashboard. If your subscription has been cancelled, you can sign up again whenever you want.

Help, I've lost my password!

At the bottom of the sign in page is a button saying 'Forgot your password', click on it to reset your password.

Can I watch a talk if I'm not a health professional?

No problem! Leave the details requiring your HPCSA number blank when signing up and you will have access to all the talks.

I'm a Social Worker, how do I get my talks accredited?

You are able to watch the videos, and claim CPD points for them. According to SACSSP, the videos cannot be pre-approved for CPD points as they count as an individual activity. You will get a certificate reflecting your completion of the talk. The certificate will count as proof that you have watched the video and passed the quiz. You need to fill in the relevant details for the talk in your portfolio of evidence and submit it to the SACSSP if audited. Consult the SACSSP website for more information.

I have a question not covered in the FAQ. Where can I ask?

If these FAQs have not answered your question, feel free to contact us on the form on our support page and we will get back to you in 1-2 business days.

I am interested in contributing content to the Calabash platform. How do I go about this?

We are always looking for great content for our platform. If you would like to write an article, create a video or film a workshop or webinar and post it on our site, please contact us on our support page.