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With the introduction of Enhanced CPD in January we've seen many changes to the way CPD is approached, planned and documented. In December we wrote about the main changes and confirmed that from January our CPD certificates would fully meet all the GDC's Enhanced CPD requirements. We also ensured each article clearly stated which development outcome (A–D) it related to and marked this clearly in each title. The majority of our articles are Development Outcome C – clinical domain. In order to meet the GDC's requirements, at least one development outcome is required per CPD activity.
Since January we've made more changes to help make the transition as smooth and painless as possible.
Guidance Notes (Figure 1)
We've summarized the main points from the documentation available on the GDC website on Enhanced CPD and created Guidance Notes for our subscribers. These Guidance Notes are intended as a summary of the main points to consider and provide confirmation of what, when and how the GDC states that they require information to be documented. These Guidance Notes are now available for all subscribers online a www.dental-update.co.uk
Field of Practice Template (Figure 2)
The new requirements include the need for all Registrants to provide ‘Field of Practice’ information, where the individual states his/her area of work, work environment and patient make-up. We've created a ‘Field of Practice Template’ in which subscribers can detail the above (and save ready for submission to the GDC).
Personal Development Plan (PDP) Template (Figure 2)
The PDP is where each individual identifies any areas of development need, states the CPD they plan to undertake, why they plan to undertake it and when and how they plan to undertake it. The PDP is to be updated on an ongoing basis also to reflect any changes in requirements following completion of CPD activity. We've combined this with the above ‘Field of Practice’ template to create a ‘Field of Practice and Personal Development Plan Template’.
CPD Activity Log Template (Figure 3)
A CPD Activity Log is required in which all CPD Activity, once undertaken, is recorded along with notes on reflection where Registrants consider the value and importance of what they learnt (and from this adjust their plan for future CPD activity). We've created a ‘CPD Activity Log ’Template’ for subscribers.
All templates (Field of Practice, PDP and CPD Activity Log) are all editable to enable any CPD, regardless of provider, to be logged and saved. Templates and Guidance Notes are accessible online by clicking a link on your ‘Development Portfolio’ page of the website (Figure 4). Alternatively, contact tmontgomery@georgewarman.co.uk if you would like to receive them by email.
Please note: The links on the website are to blank versions, please ensure that you save copies to your own folder and add to these personal versions going forward. Information you enter will not be saved to the website versions, you must save your own copies for your own records.
We know that it's preferable to have all CPD logs saved in one place, and we want to do as much as we can to help make life as easy as possible for our subscribers, so we are also arranging for all CPD undertaken via Dental Update to be automatically recorded on the CPD Activity Log. We look forward to confirming a release date for this soon.