Appraisal Calibration and CPD

New Appraisal-related Calibration Requirement:

• Appraisal is an important role that works best with highly-trained and well-supported appraisers, and we have always prided ourselves on our high standards of appraisal-related CPD and calibration
• Last year, we simplified our CPD requirement to participation in two calibration events
• The NHS England South Appraisal Consistency Event in May 2019 revealed that we now require less appraisal-related CPD than other local areas
• We are updating our requirements to fit with those for the rest of NHS England so that we can continue to be commissioned by NHS England designated bodies in the confidence that we meet, or exceed, their baseline standards in all areas of appraisal practice.

What this means for the Appraiser:

From 2019-2020, appraisers should demonstrate appropriate appraisal-related CPD based on the equivalent of three sessions of calibration, at least one of which should be regional/national, and one of which should be local, as in the table below:

Type of training/event	Number of sessions of CPD and calibration	Type of calibration
New Appraiser Training (NAT)	4	regional / national
Current Appraiser Skills Assessment (CASA)	2	regional / national
Appraiser Skills Update	2	regional / national
Annual Appraisers Conference (Wessex or elsewhere) - (whole day)	2	regional / national
Annual Appraisers Conference (Wessex or elsewhere) - (half day)	1	regional / national
Local Appraisers' Support Group /learning set meeting	1	local
One-to-one with Senior Appraiser	1	local

It was also agreed that, for Appraisers who work across borders, it is appropriate to require participation in at least one local Support Group in each area in which they choose to work in each appraisal year (all of which can be counted as part of their three sessions of calibration).

Mandatory training:

The requirement to demonstrate that Appraisers stay up-to-date with Information Governance and Equality & Diversity training is not a calibration opportunity but a separate requirement for the role, every three years (and we can accept evidence of these courses other than attendance at the conferences).

---

Important information about CPD for Appraisal:

CPD remains incredibly important - indeed VITAL! - to every doctor’s growth and development throughout their entire career, but we have stopped counting credits.

The GMC requirement is for all doctors to keep up-to-date at what they do. A reflective doctor is continually engaged in learning, mainly through real-time interactions with patients and colleagues. Doctors are trusted to keep up-to-date with learning in their own speciality and fields of interest, and to be able to reflect verbally on what they have learned during their appraisal discussion. The expectation is that their demonstration of keeping up-to-date will take a variety of forms. If an appraisee wishes to demonstrate a log of learning, that is absolutely fine but a specific number of hours, modules, or topics is NOT expected and should never be insisted on.