Sustainable Support Them in Meeting the Requirements of “We Are Using All the Feedback and Input Re - Revalidation
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
ThE NEWSpapEr Of ThE rOyaL COLLEgE Of gENEraL praCTiTiONErS News FEBRUARY 2010 Inside this issue... Starting out Triple boost for RCGP New RCGP initiative for first five years of general practice 2 Tackling kidney disease in primary care Revalidation plans Renal ‘tsar’ Donal O Donoghue on the important role of GPs 3 The RCGP has launched its pilot of the Revalidation ePortfolio for GPs – Safeguarding children in tandem with the third edition of its Guide to the Revalidation of RCGP launches new version of toolkit 4 General Practitioners and a simplified guide to CPD credits. On the record GPs in urban and rural areas across the UK are G Adjustment of the timelines to reflect the College Informatics experts make the taking part in the pilot and, depending on a suc - fact that the Early Adopters programme case for improved patient summaries 5 cessful outcome, the College hopes to make the (in which the first doctors will revalidate) electronic tool widely available later this year – will now start in the year 2011/12 free to RCGP members as part of their overall G The possibility of GPs submitting a e-Learning update membership package. quality improvement project in the place Access to psychological therapies 5 The Revalidation ePortfolio is the first of its of a second clinical audit kind to be based on the areas of revalidation set out in the RCGP Guide to Revalidation for Gen - G Reference to the revalidation of GPs in The right connection eral Practitioners , now in its third iteration and training Suicide awareness in primary care 6 available from the RCGP website. G Simplification of the Learning Credits The ePortfolio is designed to encourage re - (Supporting information area 6) The Equalisers flection and is centred on a learning activity log G A refinement of the definition of activities with a simple data entry system. included in extended practice Addressing health inequalities 7 The system categorises information in the (Supporting information area 13) learning log in a way that allows users to view a G Emphasis of the discretion that will be New faces pictorial representation of their progress to - required by Responsible Officers for Professor Steve Field: Feedback from members RCGP unveils latest clinical champions 8 wards revalidation before annual appraisals and assessing supporting information for is absolutely crucial to our proposals the five-yearly revalidation submission. revalidation. It links to the College’s new Continuing Pro - To accompany the latest version of the Guide, fessional Development (CPD) credit scheme – the College has also released Version 2 of the EARLYBIRD BOOKING DEADLINE 28 JUNE 2010 which the College has simplified in response to RCGP Guide to the Credit-Based System for Con - GP feedback – and contains a guide to the sys - tinuing Professional Development which has tem and a means to record and claim the credits been refined after consultation with GPs and earned. It will link with the trainee ePortfolio now provides simplified guidance on how many and members’ personal data held by the College credits should be claimed for different learning will be automatically entered into it. activities. The RCGP credit system is not purely The ePortfolio will also allow direct links to based on time spent, but also reflects the impact the College’s other e-learning products such as of learning. Essential Knowledge Updates, which will auto- Professor Field said: “We must get into the complete relevant entries into the Revalidation mindset of seeing revalidation as professional ePortfolio. development, making sure that revalidation uses RCGP Chairman, Professor Steve Field, said: existing systems and that it is not onerous for ”This will be the definitive tool for GPs to use to busy GPs. Sustainable support them in meeting the requirements of “We are using all the feedback and input re - revalidation. It is being designed specifically for ceived from GPs around the country to help us GPs in their many and varied roles. Primar Care develop a programme for the revalidation of GPs “Frontline GPs are trialling the Revalidation that meets their specific needs. We are actively ePortfolio so that we can be sure it meets the listening to what GPs are telling us in their growing healthy partnerships needs of all GPs, regardless of their individual emails and when we meet them. We have sim - working circumstances.” plified our proposal relating to learning credits The RCGP Guide to the Revalidation of Gen - for this reason. eral Practitioners is regularly updated to reflect “GP feedback is invaluable to us and I would developments in the systems and processes the encourage all our Members and Fellows to give College is developing for revalidation – taking us their views so that our proposals for revali - into account feedback and suggestions from dation are as robust and relevant as they could grassroots GPs across the UK. Key changes be - possibly be.” tween the second and third editions include: While the RCGP has the responsibility on be - G Adoption of the use of the phrase half of all GPs to propose the standards and ‘supporting information’ in place methods for the revalidation of GPs, the General of ‘evidence’, in keeping with Medical Council (GMC) must approve the stan - other relevant organisations dards and methods before they are introduced. I Both updated Guides are now available on the RCGP website : www.rcgp.org.uk/revalidation www.rcgp.org.uk/cpdcredits What members really think of College The MRCGP qualification and the College’s continuing role in maintaining professional standards and training are the benefits most highly valued by RCGP Members and Fellows according to the latest membership survey. The expanding range of educational and training Knowledge Updates (EKU) very useful, with 90 resources provided by the College was also per cent approval for the portfolio of resources widely welcomed in the survey. Newly developed being introduced to support Revalidation. services and benefits – particularly those geared Trainee ePortfolios and eGP attracted posi - around knowledge building and personal devel - tive feedback and there was wide support for opment – met with widespread approval from re - proposed additional resources such as Online spondents: 93 per cent said they found Essential Seminars for CPD. Continued overleaf ± NEWS Supporting gps in the first five years College appoints Chief Examiner Dr Clare Taylor , past Chair of the Where do we want to be? Dr Sue Rendel has been appointed Associates in Training Committee The RCGP needs to connect with all of its mem - as the College’s Chief Examiner to 2008-9, has recently been appointed bers, including those within the first five years take responsibility for the conduct, after training. The RCGP should be the first as First5 Continuing Professional point of access for GPs at all stages of their ca - delivery and quality management Development Fellow. Here she explains reer – the relationship established with RCGP of MRCGP assessments. the concept of First5 and the aims and during time as an AiT should continue through - Dr Rendel, a Fellow of the College, is a GP Prin - out the professional lifetime. The regional fac - cipal and trainer in a seven-partner practice in objectives of the First5 CPD project. ulty structure should be the local face of the Newbury, Berkshire, and has been involved RCGP and offer opportunities for peer support, First5 is a new initiative being developed by the with the MRCGP examination at a senior level educational events and local representation. for a number of years, having acted firstly as Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) Nationally, the RCGP should continue to which will support new GPs from completion of convenor of the simulated surgery between offer effective leadership and representation 2005 and 2007, and more recently as the deputy training to the first point of revalidation at five within the wider health service which repre - years. The RCGP already does excellent work clinical lead for the CSA. She has also been a sents the interests of all its members including leading figure in the development of the CSA, to support all of its members, however the ben - those in the First5 cohort. efits of maintaining membership are not well her work in this area being recognised by the known to all newly qualified GPs. award of the College’s nMRCGP Foundation The concept of First5 is a way for the RCGP The First5 CPD Project Medal in 2007. to play a key role in supporting new GPs Her appointment as Chief Examiner is ini - CPD is an essential part of general practice, tially for one year as the future roles within the through those crucial first five years up to the which ensures GPs improve their knowledge first point of revalidation. MRCGP are reviewed. The coming year prom - Clare Taylor: Identifying the particular CPD and skills throughout their careers. CPD activity ises to be a busy one and Sue hopes to make an needs of new GPs in their first five years is currently reviewed during the annual ap - impact by improving the College’s assessment Five Pillars of First5 praisal and will form an essential part of revali - links with the deaneries, refining standard set - and developed by the AiT Committee 2008-9. dation. Throughout GP training, AiTs are The First5 concept is currently under develop - ting and quality assurance processes across The project is being taken forward by the First5 encouraged to develop a personal development ment by the First5 task group at the RCGP. Fac - MRCGP assessments and contributing to dis - Task Group led by Dr Clare Gerada, Vice Chair plan and use a variety of resources to meet their ulties and members will be regularly updated on cussions within the College about the develop - of Council.