I have always wondered what being accredited meant when I was a student. This week I finally did it and it was quite an exciting moment. I am now a CIPR Accredited PR Practitioner status is basically evidence that you are committed to keeping your professional skills and knowledge up to date and continually developing and broadening your horizons. I think it is a great opportunity for other people to see that you are committed to furthering your knowledge in your career.
When I think that when I left studying that email was in its infancy, the internet was not that big and social media was non existent. 😉 I have been reading up on European PR strategy and social media ROI among other things to earn Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points. What interested me about social media ROI was the site Simple return on investment for social media
jonnomason 
Congratulations on becoming an Accredited Practitioner! I hope to reach that one day! What were the main steps you took to do this?
Sarah
You need to belong to an organisation like APR or the Chartered Institute of Public Relations. It now takes about two years where you earn points by reading papers or books or watching films to continue your development.