Revalidation – your expertise and experience is needed

Revalidation – the regular assurance that all doctors with a licence are competent and fit to practise, is on its way.

Frontline doctors, patients and all those involved or affected by revalidation will be asked to take part in a major consultation to help shape the process. The consultation will be launched by the General Medical Council on the 1 March 2010 and run for three months. 

The consultation will cover four main themes:

• How revalidation will work. This covers the approach to revalidation, including the process by which a final recommendation will be made to the GMC by a designated 'Responsible Officer' likely to be the medical director in a doctor's employing organisation. More specific issues, such as how revalidation will work for doctors in non-mainstream roles, will also be considered.
   
• What doctors and employers will need to do. The consultation will consider aspects of appraisal and assessment, the specialty standards developed by the Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties, the role of continuing professional development in the context of revalidation and the principles and criteria for multi-source feedback.
   
• How patients will be involved. This section explains how patients will provide feedback to doctors on their performance and how this will be included in the revalidation process
   
• How and when revalidation will be introduced. This section, sets out our proposals for implementation across the four countries of the UK.
   

Chair of the General Medical Council, Professor Peter Rubin said:

“The first practical step towards the successful introduction of revalidation was completed in November 2009 when more than 200,000 doctors were given a licence to practise medicine in the UK.

“Now we are going to consult the profession, employers and patients on how we take this forward to create the right model.

“Each month I meet with frontline doctors who are delivering a quality service to patients every day across the UK. Revalidation will not mean they have to change the way they work but, by taking part in appraisal in the workplace, they will be providing regular assurance that they remain competent and fit to practise in the job they do everyday.

“We want to hear from doctors, employers and patients and I hope as many as possible go to the General Medical Council website and contribute to the consultation and share their experience and expertise to help shape how revalidation will work.”

-ENDS-