Your appraiser will usually be an experienced, working GP, who have been appointed through a competitive process. Appraisers themselves go through exactly the same annual appraisal and revalidation processes, like all GPs do. Appraises are managed by the regional revalidation team and our reportable to lead appraisers and the responsible officer. There is a quality assurance processing in place and a proportion of the appraisals they conduct our audited to ensure they are providing a good experience for the appraisee. They also have to undergo annual training.

Regions will vary, but you often will have the same Appraiser for three years before being changed to a new Appraiser. Therefore, you will often have at least two appraises per revalidation cycle.

Ultimately, it is the Responsible Officer who decides whether enough evidence has been shown through a GP’s annual appraisals which will allow them to revalidate.

The Designated Body is the organisation responsible for providing you with an appraiser and supporting you with revalidation. If you’re not sure which designated body is yours, or who your RO is, the GMC website can help.

They have an online tool to help you find your designated body and a list of all designated bodies with the ROs connected to them and an email address for you to contact them. Bear in mind, some doctors will revalidate directly with the GMC.

The GP annual appraisal is not a pass/fail exercise but rather a formative process designed to support and guide GPs in their professional development. Its primary aim is to help GPs prepare for revalidation, which is a summative assessment conducted every five years to ensure they remain fit to practice.

Since the pandemic, the GP appraisal process has undergone significant changes to make it less of a tick-box exercise and more supportive in nature.

The focus has shifted from meeting rigid, quantitative requirements to more qualitative, reflective practices. GPs are encouraged to concentrate on meaningful reflections rather than accumulating a specific number of CPD hours. The appraisal now emphasizes professional development and personal well-being, with less stringent documentation requirements.

If you do some NHS clinical work every year, and fulfil the requirement to have an annual appraisal, you will (under current legislation) remain connected to the NHS responsible officer in the area where you do the majority of your NHS clinical work.

There is no minimum amount of NHS clinical work required, but 40 sessions per twelve months in work is a threshold below which you are expected to reflect on how you remain safe for such a low volume of clinical work. We recommend that you reflect on the NHS Low Volumes of Clinical Work Structured Reflective Template, include it as a quality improvement activity in your supporting

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to the questions that may be asked by your Appraiser, however, below is a list of questions that may be asked during your appraisal.

• Have you got any other roles such as in the voluntary or private sector?
• How do you keep up-to-date in that role?
• How do you know you are doing a good job in that role?
• How do you look after your health and wellbeing?
• What would need to happen in order to improve your wellbeing?
• Do you undertake any teaching or supervising?
• Which members are in your team or who do you interact with, in your roles?
• How do you keep up-to-date?
• How has a particular learning/reflection going to, or already changed your management/approach?
• How did a complaint or compliment make you feel?
• Have you made any prescribing errors, even if these are minor over the last 12 months?
• Do you know what your CQC rating is (if applicable)?

The RCGP provides detailed guidance on the types of supporting information required for appraisal and revalidation.

Key resources include:

• Supporting Information for Appraisal and Revalidation
• Appraisal and Revalidation Mythbusters
• https://www.rcgp.org.uk/getmedia/6cd9d1f2-642d-4cab-8b07-7da882e06034/RCGP-LVCW-framework-aug-2018.pdf

The GMC have several resources on revalidation to help you find your responsible officer and designated body:

• https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/documents/db-list-with-ro-details—dc3503_pdf-52637845.pdf
• https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/managing-your-registration/revalidation/my-db-tool
• https://www.gmc-uk.org/-/media/doc
• https://www.gmc-uk.org/registration-and-licensing/managing-your-registration/revalidation/my-db-tool

There are also additional resources which are outlined below:

• https://www.aomrc.org.uk/revalidation/medical-appraisal/
• https://www.england.nhs.uk/professional-standards/medical-revalidation/appraisers/med-app-guide/
• https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/career-progression/best-practice/medical-appraisals

• Declaration of full scope of practice 
  • Including any GP related voluntary, private, teaching roles etc. 
  • Any change in circumstances since last appraisal 
• 2. Challenges, Achievements and Aspirations 
  • Reflect in your appraisal submission on the professional and personal challenges you’ve faced since your last appraisal. Consider what have been your greatest achievements and what your aspirations, both personally and professionally, are for the year ahead. 
• 3. Personal Development Plan (PDP): 
  • Review of the previous year’s PDP to assess progress and achievements. 
  • A proposed PDP outlining specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives for the coming year. 
• 4. Continuing Professional Development (CPD): 
  • Evidence of learning and development activities over the past year. 
  • Reflective notes on the impact of these activities on clinical practice. 
  • There is no specified amount of hours that is required. 
• 5. Personal and Professional Wellbeing 
  • You are required to sign a declaration that you accept the professional obligations in Good medical practice about your own health 
  • You are also invited to score the question “How are you?” on a scale of one to ten 
• 6. Quality Improvement Activities: 
  • Documentation of participation in quality improvement initiatives such as reflective case review; learning event analysis; review of personal outcome data; search and do; plan, do, study, act cycles; clinical audit. 
  • Reflections on the outcomes and learnings from these activities. 
  • Clinical audit is not a specific revalidation requirement, but it can form part of quality improvement activities or projects. 
• 7. Significant Events: 
  • Review and reflection on significant events, particularly those that impacted patient care. 
  • Analysis of what was learned and how practice was changed as a result. 
• 8. Review of Complaints and Compliments: 
  • Documentation and reflection on any complaints received, including actions taken in response. 
  • Consideration of compliments and positive feedback to reinforce good practice.