Revalidation
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What is Revalidation?
Revalidation is a single process by which doctors will demonstrate to the General Medical Council (GMC) that they are up to date and fit to practise and that they are complying with the relevant professional standards.
Since November 2009 any doctor wanting to practise medicine in the UK not only has to be registered with the GMC, but also has to hold a licence to practise. All the professional activities that were restricted by law to doctors registered with the GMC are now restricted to doctors who hold a licence. These activities include prescribing, signing death and cremation certificates, and holding certain medical posts in the NHS and the independent sector.
All doctors will need to demonstrate that they are practising in accordance with the generic standards of practice set by the GMC and based upon the GMC’s guidance Good Medical Practice.
In addition to holding a license, trained Emergency Medicine (EM) doctors must also be on the GMC specialty register –‘certificated’. All doctors on the GP or specialty registers will need to show that they continue to meet the particular standards that apply to their medical speciality or area of practice. These specialty specific standards are set by the medical Royal Colleges and Faculties.
Therefore, doctors who undertake specialist practice in Emergency Medicine must continue to meet the Emergency Medicine specialty standards. These standards are set by the College of Emergency Medicine in line with the generic standards and criteria outlined in the GMC’s Framework for Appraisal and Assessment.
Revalidation will form a single, integrated process, where doctors will demonstrate they meet generic and specialist standards over a five year period.
When will Revalidation begin?
On 16 November 2009 the GMC introduced the license to practice. To practice medicine in the UK all doctors are required by law to hold both registration and a license to practice.
This applies whether they practise full time, part time, as a locum, privately or in the NHS, or whether they are employed or self-employed. Licensing is the first practical step towards the introduction of revalidation.
The DH Revalidation Support Team in England will be piloting whole system pathfinder pilots in early 2010 until March 2011. The College is piloting the specialty standards alongside these pilots.
The GMC is conducting a consultation on how revalidation will work, which closes on the 4th June 2010. There will be no ‘big-bang’ introduction of revalidation. It will be rolled out incrementally, so that lessons can be learned from pilots, with the first revalidations likely to take place in 2012.
How will Revalidation work in practice for Emergency Medicine?
It is difficult to provide a detailed and precise answer at this stage of the development of revalidation. There may also be differences between the four national areas.
In broad terms:
- All doctors holding a license to practice and working in Emergency Medicine will need to collect supporting information to demonstrate that they meet their continued fitness to practice against the standards set by the GMC and the College.
- Each doctor will have an annual appraisal, and every 5 years their Responsible Officer will review the appraisals for the past 5 years and make a recommendation to the GMC as to whether that doctor should be revalidated.
- The GMC will make the final decision to revalidate each doctor.
It is important to note that revalidation will be an ongoing, 5 year process; not a fifth year process.
What can I do to prepare for Revalidation?
Most doctors will already be collecting evidence of performance for medical appraisal and CPD. The College recommends you take the following steps in preparation for revalidation:
- Review your appraisal documentation from the last few years
- Check the evidence you have claimed are in your files (e.g. courses attended; CPD certificates)
- Check what aspects of your PDP have been achieved and what has not. If there are uncompleted elements, identify reasons for this and record them
- Review any changes to you job plans or specialist practice and confirm that you have active CPD in those areas
- Collect or make a list of any accolades or letters of appreciation you have received
- Collect evidence of any other clinical activity you may have undertaken (e.g. clinical audits)
- Collect evidence of any non-clinical activity you may have undertaken (e.g. multi-source feedback; patient surveys; teaching; research; work for the greater NHS)
- Make sure that all of the documentation is in place for any complaints or incidents that you may have had
- Ensure that the ‘local responsible officer’ (when appointed) within your trust has copies of your appraisals and a record that they have taken place.
The College has recently published guidance for EM doctors