Medical appraisal and revalidation is the process of assessing a doctor’s competence to practise medicine by reviewing, among other factors, their medical knowledge, skills, experience. A Medical Appraisal will be undertaken if there are concerns about an individual’s fitness to practise or following changes in legislation.

The medical field is evolving, and so are the requirements for practising doctors. Doctors who want to practice in the UK will need a revalidation process to practice.

Two keys to demonstrating your fitness to practice medicine are an annual appraisal along with supporting evidence.

The medical appraisal also offers the opportunity to focus on the individual development of your professional needs.

The process involved in undertaking a medical appraisal uses a self-review process supported by information about the doctor’s work.

These appraisals are used for multiple reasons, including:

1. To work with an appraiser to reflect on their own individual practice and performance, to show how they have maintained an up to date level at which they practice at
2. A plan for the doctor’s future development as a professional help doctors plan their professional development.
3. To identify areas where they may need to focus on improvement.
4. The organisations that the doctors work for will also have priorities, and the medical appraisal can make sure that the doctors are meeting these priorities.

Conflict of interest can be an issue when the job planning process isn’t kept separate from the appraisal, so they should be kept apart.

The GMC framework for appraisal and revalidation provides a broad set of standards which doctors are expected to meet. In addition, it outlines the responsibilities of not only the doctors but the employers as well; this being said, there are differences in the process for different positions.

Junior doctors:

Doctors in training can attain revalidation through a different method than described above. They will need to undertake the annual review of competence progression (ARCP) and therefore will not need the same medical appraisal.

Clinical academics:

The appraisal path outlined above will be relevant to clinical academic staff. Still, the fact that they are employed by both the NHS and a higher education institute this means that they have agreed to the sets of principles of both parties in appraisal, disciplinary and reporting agreements.

The three stages in the medical appraisal process are:

1. Firstly there are inputs to the appraisal, and this will include a record containing the doctor’s scope and nature of work and any relevant supporting data.
2. There is also a confidential appraisal discussion between the doctor and appraiser.
3. This information is then collated and investigated, which will result in an output of appraisal. This should include the personal development plan and a summary of the discussion and comments from the appraiser.

A licensed doctor can achieve revalidation when they demonstrate up to date and fit to work practices. Revalidation is based on the regular appraisal as well as a strengthened clinical governance process, this is why is it important for a Locum doctor appraisal.

The responsible officer will decide on a recommendation as to whether the individual is fit to practice. They will base a considerable amount of their recommendation on how well the appraisal meets the requirements of the GMC, and an effective appraisal will satisfy these requirements.

The responsible officer often gives positive recommendations but are required to report to GMC if they have any concerns surrounding the individual. These concerns could come in a few forms, such as the doctor’s fitness to practice, a doctors lack willingness to engage in the process, or the need for a deferral from the individual.

These are issues that are important to act on as they come about and not just during the revalidation recommendation process. This is because they are likely to cause more minor problems if addressed early.

In conclusion, medical appraisals are important for doctors to undertake as there needs to be a good quality of practice in the medical industry. There must be minimum standards within all industries, and this is no different with medicine as if practice standard drop-in medicine, people may not be getting the best help they need. If it becomes straightforward for any doctor to get away with anything they want, then patients will suffer because these people can’t trust their physician when they need them most. This is why we recommend that physicians take advantage of an appraisal service if possible so that they provide excellent care and maintain high standards of practice within their profession.