Content Comparison

• 6.1 Myth: Only courses and conferences count as CPD

6.1 Myth: Only courses and conferences count as CPD

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In many areas, responsible officers (ROs) have asked doctors to include additional training requirements in their portfolio of supporting information. This is to ensure that organisational requirements are understood by every doctor. This does not make them part of the GMC requirements for revalidation. It is important that you recognise the difference between the requirements for revalidation and training requirements for other purposes, and that your appraiser and RO do not allow the two to become confused.

6.7. Myth: I cannot claim any credits for a learning activity if I do not learn anything new

When you have spent time undertaking a learning activity, it does not always result in learning something new. If it simply reinforces your existing knowledge and skills, and you discover that you are already up-to-date without learning anything new, you can still demonstrate CPD credits by providing a reflective note that explains that there are no changes that you need to make at the current time. This can be very reassuring and we recommend that you include it in your learning log.

6.8. Myth: My appraiser will be impressed by my hundreds of credits

The GMC does not set any specific revalidation requirements in relation to CPD or training. You need to demonstrate that you have done sufficient relevant CPD to keep up-to-date at what you do.

We do not recommend that you spend time that would be better spent on your patients, family or relaxation on documenting credits over and above the recommended amount. If you wish to demonstrate more than 50 credits it is your responsibility to ensure that the way that you record and demonstrate your CPD is proportionate and reasonable and does not become time consuming. Your appraiser should be trained to challenge you to keep your documentation proportionate and make sure that your recording of your reflection is done in a way that is useful to you.

You should not expect your appraiser to review huge amounts of supporting information over and above what is required. You should not spend a disproportionate amount of time and effort on CPD credits that you have already recorded. You should not spend a disproportionate amount of time and effort on documenting your reflection on everything you learn throughout the year. Try to create sensible habits that make your documentation simple and streamlined and use the knowledge and skills of your appraiser to help you.

6.9. Myth: I have to do 50 credits of CPD every year

The emphasis for CPD is on the quality of your reflection on what you have learned and the impact it has had on quality of care, not the quantity of credits documented. In fact, it is impossible to put a number on the credits that you need to do to keep up-to-date and fit to practise. The GMC requires you to do enough CPD to keep up-to-date across your whole scope of practice but they do not attempt to define or require a quantity.

We recommend that you undertake 50 credits for every twelve months in work. This can help you estimate what is right for you as an individual GP but it is not a GMC requirement. If you meet this recommendation, your portfolio is unlikely to need any additional scrutiny of your CPD. If you do not meet this recommendation, then it is likely that your responsible officer (RO) will want to understand exactly why you believe that your CPD is sufficient to keep you up-to-date and fit to practise.

The recommendation that you undertake 50 CPD credits is not a requirement. It relates to the current Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AoMRC) recommendations for all doctors, bringing the RCGP into line with other specialties, to try to ensure that there is a level playing field for everyone. We recommend that those who have a restricted scope of practice should discuss with their appraiser what constitutes sufficient CPD to keep up-to-date at what they do and to agree this with their RO if necessary.

For example, those who were historically GPs, but now have a very restricted role providing only family planning services, will follow the recommendations of the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) for their CPD, to demonstrate that they are fully up-to-date across the whole of their practice. However, GPs who wish to remain entitled to undertake undifferentiated primary care sessions need to keep up-to-date across the whole of the GP curriculum.

6.10. Myth: I need 50 credits of clinical CPD every year

We recommend 50 credits across the whole GP curriculum, which is much broader than purely clinical CPD. It has always been important to have a balance across the whole GP curriculum relevant to the work that you do.

6.11. Myth: I must demonstrate 50 credits each year even if I have not been able to practise for much of the time

If you have a prolonged career break in an appraisal period, for example due to maternity or sick leave, we recommend that you demonstrate CPD proportionate to your time in work. You should not be burdened with a double load of CPD in the year when you return to work.

While you may choose to front load your CPD to be up-to-date and confident to return to work, this would not be appropriate for everyone. If you have a shortened appraisal interval, for example because you have pulled your appraisal forwards for organisational or personal reasons, you can provide CPD proportionate to the time in work between your appraisals. The GMC requirements for revalidation remain constant whether the review period is three months in work or twelve, but the supporting information should be proportionate to the time in work.

For example, if your appraisal is brought forward so that it is nine months after the previous one, then you should consider what supporting information is proportionate for a nine-month period in work. We recommend that you focus on making progress with your previous PDP, even if not all goals can be achieved, and that you document reflection on a proportionate number of credits of CPD as well as the other types of supporting information. If an appraisal takes place more than twelve months after the previous one, the supporting information presented should be proportionate to the whole time spent in work between appraisals. You should discuss any question about what is appropriate and proportionate in advance with your appraiser and your responsible officer (RO) if necessary.

If it has been impossible for you to demonstrate all the GMC required supporting information before your revalidation recommendation due date, for good reason, then your RO has the option of deferring your revalidation recommendation. This gives you more time to collect the information you need. Deferral is a neutral act to enable you to maintain your licence to practise during the deferral period. For many doctors, a deferral decision gives them time rather than trying to produce a disproportionate amount of supporting information in a shortened space of time after a period when they have not been able to work. 

6.12. Myth: 50 credits is always enough CPD

The GMC requires you to do enough CPD to keep up-to-date across the whole of your scope of practice. This may require more, or less, than 50 credits depending on the scope of practice and your qualifications and experience in each area of work. We recommend that GPs who are providing undifferentiated primary care should demonstrate reflection on 50 credits of CPD over the range of the GP curriculum for every twelve months in work.
You should determine what is enough CPD for you to be up-to-date and fit to practise across all of your work.

You should discuss this with your appraiser and, when necessary, get explicit agreement from your responsible officer that what you are doing is appropriate for your circumstances.

As an exception, if you have a complicated portfolio career and several roles to include, you may feel you need to demonstrate more than 50 credits to demonstrate reflection on appropriate CPD to keep up-to-date for each part of your work. You should keep the detailed documentation proportionate and reasonable. Most doctors find it easier to keep a learning log that builds up as they go through the year and this could amount to over 50 credits by the end of the year. If the documentation of the reflection has not been allowed to become disproportionate, you should be the one to decide what works for you.

The appraisal discussion should focus on the credits that reflect on the most valuable and representative learning. We recommend that you should reflect on the balance of your CPD and discuss it with your appraiser. If you are still working as a GP providing undifferentiated primary care, we recommend that you demonstrate 50 credits of CPD relating to the breadth of the GP curriculum. Some elements of CPD are applicable across several roles and, where possible, you should avoid duplication.

6.13. Myth: I can stop learning and reflecting once I have reached 50 credits of CPD

No doctor should ever stop learning and reflecting on their practice if they want to keep up-to-date and stay safe.

You should not change your professional habits of learning and reflection, but you don’t need to document it all. You should focus on what has been particularly important or valuable to you over the course of the whole period being appraised.

6.14. Myth: There is a maximum number of credits I can claim for any one type of learning or one activity

We do not recommend any arbitrary limits to the number of credits that can be claimed by a doctor.

You can allocate the number of credits per learning activity using the usual formula: one credit equals one hour of learning activity demonstrated by a reflective note on the lessons learned and any changes made as a result.

The emphasis is on keeping the recording of reflection proportionate. You do not need to go on recording copious reflective notes once you have demonstrated that you are up-to-date and fit to practise.

It is not appropriate for appraisers to be unduly critical about the exact amount of time recorded, or credits claimed, as it creates tension where none is necessary. For example, most diplomas are hundreds of hours of learning, with direct impact on patient care, so setting an arbitrary limit to the amount of credits that can be claimed is not helpful, or proportionate. Spending time cutting down credits when you have done the learning and recorded your reflection, is as disproportionate as spending time recording credits over and above those that are sufficient to demonstrate keeping up-to-date. GPs providing undifferentiated primary care need to have CPD that covers the GP curriculum over the five-year cycle. Documenting and evidencing hundreds of hours of learning from study for a diploma may not be enough CPD to demonstrate continued competence if you have not recorded any other CPD, as it might not cover your whole scope of practice.

We do not recommend an arbitrary limit for how much CPD can be attributed to one type of learning. It is possible for you to provide high quality reflective notes on 50 credits from just one type of learning that covers the whole scope of your practice. However, it is best practice to have supporting information about a variety of types of learning. To remain up-to-date across your whole scope of practice you should demonstrate:

• targeted structured learning aimed at addressing identified learning needs or your ‘unknown unknowns’
• opportunistic experiential learning from cases, data, events and feedback.

It is important to include evidence of learning with others to calibrate professional judgements and support team learning.

Doctors who do not have a breadth of variety of learning types or a significant proportion of learning with others should use their appraisal to discuss this. We recommend that you share a reflective note exploring why this is and what you plan to do to ensure that your practice remains mainstream and not isolated from peer support and review. If you have not included this type of reflection in the pre-appraisal documentation, you should discuss it during the appraisal. Your appraiser should document your reflection in the summary.

NEW 6.15 Myth: I cannot include contractual training as part of my CPD

We recommend that all learning activity should be eligible to be counted as CPD. It is important to reflect on contractual or required training, as it is required for good reason and part of being able to demonstrate that you are ‘fit for purpose’ in your role. The appraisal documentation is a good place to record when any mandatory training was completed and reflect on lessons learned and any changes made as a result. Because of the importance of being able to demonstrate compliance with this training in meeting contractual, or performers list, obligations, it is appropriate to upload your certificates of attendance as well as your reflective note.

If you have more than one part of your scope of practice with the same training requirements, for example, equality and diversity training, we recommend that you negotiate to ensure that the training that you do will meet the needs of all your roles. This avoids duplication of effort and the unnecessary burden of repeating the same training for different employers.