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Information for the ARCPs 2012

The Annual Cycle

A Training Year and the documentation associated with it runs from either:

•Date of the start of appointment to the first Review, or

•Date of one Review to the next Review.

For example, if a trainee was appointed to start in August 2010, and the Reviews are performed in June each year, the First Year Review would cover from August 2010 to June 2011 (ie: 10 months). The Second Year Review would cover from June 2011 to June 2012 (ie: 12 months).

The cycle has two elements – appraisal and assessment.

Assessment consists of the annual review of competence progress (ARCP) + interim reviews as deemed necessary.

Training Forms

All forms MUST be completed electronically. Hand written forms will not be accepted.

Each form should then either:

Be printed off, signed by all relevant parties and then scanned as apdf file to the e-portfolio.

Or

Digital signatures will be accepted onlyby those supervisors who have the electronic ability to seal the report as a locked pdf file. Such supervisors should be cleared in advance by the head of school. Unauthorised electronic signatures will not be accepted.

It is appreciated that the printing and signing and rescanning documents is cumbersome but this cannot be avoided until the College adopt a standardized educational and clinical supervisor report that can be electronically verified.

The Educational/Review Process requires the completion of 5 forms, plus submission of the trainee’s e-portfolio:

Form 1Trainee Demographic, Contact & CCT Data

Form 2Annual Appraisal Sheet & PDP

Form 3Clinical Supervisor Reports

Form 4Educational Supervisor ReportTraining Summary

Form 5Panel Summary, Outcome and Handover

Senior trainees (ST6-7) are also asked to submit a copy of their CV in preparation for a consultant CV at the end of training.

Form I.Trainee Demographic, Contact & CCT Data

This form is completed by the trainee and contains:

  • Trainee demographic information
  • Trainee contact details
  • Cumulative record of training time contributing to CCT date

In addition it is essential for trainees to keep the deanery informed of any changes to contact details during the year. This can be done by

A hard copy of Form 1 should be presented for ARCP to ensure records are annually confirmed with the deanery.

Form 2. Appraisal Evidence Sheet & PDP

Regular appraisal and reflection on the progress is a vital element of training.

Form 2A is a record of the appraisal dates during the year. A completed Form 2A is not required for submission for ARCP but instead a summary shouldbe witnessed by the educational supervisor and recordedin the final ESR.

Form 2B is a personal development plan.

This is not reviewed by the ARCP panel but aims to provide structure and focus to the appraisal process.

Trainees may wish to upload their PDP to the e-portfolio as a resource for future personal reflection but they are not reviewed routinely at ARCP.

Form 3.Clinical Supervisor Report (CSR)

Clinical Supervisors are responsible for the day-to-day supervision of the trainee in the workplace and are usually nominated consultant trainers who work closely with the trainee.

A CSRmust be completed in advance of completion of any educational supervisor report as this forms part of the educational supervisor summary.

All CSRs will be reviewed by the ARCP panel electronically in the e-portfolio.

Trainees should have:

  • 2 CSR per post
  • minimum of 4 per year (2 per year for ASTOs)

Please Note: Signatures confirm that this is a true record of the discussions which took place, and do not infer that the trainee is in agreement with the comments and opinions stated.

The trainee has space to write their own comments.

Form 4.Educational Supervisor Report & Annual Training Summary

The Educational Supervisor (often the College Tutor) is the trainer responsible for the supervision of a trainee’s progress and performs their appraisals.

Educational Supervisors should ensure the progress stated in the Clinical and Educational Supervisor Reports are a true reflection of recent performance and identify factors that may have influenced the trainee’s progress during the training year. This is achieved byregular discussion with the Clinical Supervisors(this may be done, for example, at a departmental consultant meeting or by speaking individually with consultant colleagues and other senior staff).

The ESR is a summary of the trainee’s achievements during the current training year, and includes some key cumulative totals. It takes the form ofa structured curriculum vitae covering all areas to be developed during training. The ESR is also a useful tool for appraisal and the transfer of information from one unit to the next.

The form should be completed in part by the traineein advance of the appraisal date. This is then expanded and confirmed by the Educational Supervisor at appraisal.

In essence, the ESR submitted for an ARCP should look like a structured CV, with a full summary of professional achievements that build over years, with particular reference to that achieved since the last ARCP. Failure to complete all sections will result in an Outcome 5.

In signing the ESR, the educational supervisor is confirming that he has witnessed evidence to support the progress reported in the ESR. Signing the form without witnessing evidence could be regarded as a patient safety risk and negligence on the part of the supervisor.

Please note: Signatures confirm that this is a true record of the discussions which took place, and do not infer that the trainee is in agreement with the comments or opinions stated.

The trainee has space to write their own comments.

The first ESR is a summary of the first 6 months and is usually completed at the final appraisal of the first placement. This should be available to view in the e-portfolio at ARCP. The second ESR is a summary of the full year. A hard copy should be submitted for the ARCP.

Form 5.Panel summary, Outcome and Handover

Form 5A is completed by the Review Panel to record the evidence reviewed at the ARCP, with comments.This is retained by the deanery.

Form 5Bis now replaced with an expanded version of the ARCP outcome form which incorporates areas such as targeted areas for training and action plans. This is then forwarded by the Deanery to the trainee and the trainee’s current and next Educational Supervisor.

E Portfolio

Throughout their training, trainees should collect evidence of the training they have acquired, their achievements and their assessments.

Essential for the Annual Review are:

  • Workplace based assessments (WBAs)
  • Multisource feedback
  • Certificates for examinations
  • GMC Survey completion certificate
  • 2 CSRs per post
  • 2 ESRs (1 for the end of each post)

The portfolio may also include:

  • Publications - copies of articles
  • Audits - copies of presentations, hand outs, guidelines, etc
  • Certificates for prizes
  • Certificates for attendance at courses, conferences, meetings, etc
  • Presentations
  • Appraisals (if the trainee wishes)
  • Evidence of reflective learning – e.g. PDP, reflection on events or literature

review

  • Evidence of good practice – e.g: letters from patients or colleagues
  • Evidence of teaching, management, organization, leadership, etc.
  • Information relating to health and probity

Documents are best uploaded into personal resources in pdf format and compatible with word 1997-2003.

Those resources which you wish to be submitted as evidence for an ARCP MUST BE assigned to the ARCP. Otherwise they may not be available to the panel.

Certificates of attendance at courses or conferences should first be uploaded to resources and then linked to the CPD activity. The CPD diary eventshould be marked as 'open' in the status section.

Guidance on using the portfolio is located at the following web address:

For any queries with regard to the e-portfolio, please discuss the matter with either your educational supervisor or contact Mr Manjit Mehat, the West Midland Deanery lead trainee for e-portfolio support at

Appraisal

The Educational Supervisor is responsible for the formal appraisal process. This should take place at the start, in the middle and at the end of each placement. In preparation for these sessions, Clinical Supervisors will perform mini-appraisals at the beginning and end of each firm and the Educational supervisor will discuss progress with the clinical supervisors.

Personal Development Plan (PDP) – Form 2

The Personal Development Plan (PDP) is purely an appraisal document and can therefore remain confidential between the Trainee and Supervisor. Many however choose to share the PDP with their clinical supervisors or load it to their e-portfolio.

Beginning-of-year Appraisal

At the beginning-of-post appraisal the trainee should provide to their Educational Supervisor:

  • Previous ESR and ARCP outcomes+ CV
  • Previous Personal development planand a new one to be completed together
  • Planned annual and study leave
  • College requirements (WBAs etc) expected for your year of OST
  • Logbook

Mid-term Appraisal

This appraisal is aimed at checking progress made against the PDP set for that period and addressing any issues that may be preventing achievement of those goals.

End-of-post/year Appraisal

At the end-of-year appraisal the Educational Supervisor should:

  • Review the trainee’s e-portfolio – including log book signed by Clinical Supervisors and other evidence provided by the trainee. See earlier comments about review of evidence.
  • Review all Clinical Supervisor Reports for the year, and summarize and/or qualify any areas of concern raised in the CSRs.
  • Failure to complete the educational supervisor report in full will result in an outcome 5. Failure to mention areas of concern may put patients at risk.

At subsequent appraisals the previous PDP and ESR, the e-portfolio and the ARCP outcome can then act as the basis for appraisal discussion and help when planning new goals and objectives.

Annual Review of Competence Progress (ARCP)

The ARCP is designed to provide evidence and a judgement on progress. The ARCP panel review the evidence of progress submitted by the trainee against the approved curriculum and the GMC’s Good Medical Practice.

Each panel consists of at least three members, led by either the Head of School or Programme director, with external and lay representation for at least 10% of the cases reviewed. For academic trainees this should also include two academic representatives not directly involved in the academic supervision of the trainee concerned.

As ARCP outcomes are determinedbefore interview on the evidence submitted and cannot be altered by mitigating circumstances presented later, the evidence presented must be able to demonstrate your career progress independently.

Interview is not an essential element of the ARCP process, except for those with an unfavourable outcome. If you are unable to attend for interview, your paperwork MUST still be submitted for assessment and your ARCP outcome will still be determined in abstentia on the evidence submitted. Alterations to the timetable are not possible as timescales are extremely tight.

For those who are unable to attend, Mrs Robinson is always available by appointment, outside the ARCP process, to discuss any training issues.

For those trainees awarded Outcome 1 (favourable outcome), a short panel discussion will take place with the trainee to address any queries either you may have that have not been addressed through regular appraisal with your educational supervisor.

For those trainees where an unsatisfactory outcome has been awarded, a more detailed interview will take place to determine if there are mitigating circumstances surrounding the evidence submitted and to agree a plan of action.

ARCP Outcomes

Satisfactory

Outcome 1Appropriate progress, proceed to next stage

Unsatisfactory

Outcome 2Focused training required, no extension to training time

Outcome 3Additional training time required

Outcome 4 Removal from the training programme

Outcome 5Failure to submit appropriate paperwork

Outcome 6Gained all required competences

Outcome 7Fixed term speciality outcome

Further information available in The Gold guide for Subspeciality Training UK

Outcome 5

Those trainees awarded an outcome 5 will have 5 working days to submit reason(s) as to why the evidence/documentation has not been made available to the panel. Thereafter they can submit further evidence for review by the panel at a later date, as per the ARCP timetable approximately usually 2-3 weeks later. Some may have a virtual review, while others may be called for interviewto be issued with either outcome 1,2, or 3.

OOPR/OOPC

Such trainees will receive an outcome 8 (out of programme for approved research or career break)

OOPT

Such trainees will be issued with an outcome 1-5.

Interim Reviews

These will take place following outcomes 2 or 3 to ensure that trainees are “on track” to achieve the targets set.

Where previously a trainee with any unfavourable outcome in June had an ARCP in December, this is no longer the case.

For such reviews, all ARCP paperwork will not be required. Instead, depending on the action plan set for targeted training the trainee will be asked to submit specific evidence to confirm that progress is being made. Normal ARCP outcomes will not be issued on these occasions. Instead satisfactory/unsatisfactory progress + revised action plan. The deanery rep will take notes as usual to be retained for future reference.

This will be the case for all trainees with an outcome 2. If a trainee has been given an outcome 3 with a 12 month extension they will also have an interim review at 6 months. Those given a six month extension will have an ARCP in 6 months and then annually thereafter.

Exam Failure

An exception to this rule may occur when a trainee is issued with a 6 month extension due to exam failure. If the exam is passed within 3 months then an outcome 1 may be issued ahead of the planned date and the clock reset with the College accordingly.

FTSTAs & LATs

These have outcomes 7.1-7.5 in keeping with the above.

ARCP Timetable 2012

ST7 & IDTs leaving WMD before June 2012
Submission of paperwork / Friday March 2
ARCP Panel Review & Interviews / Friday March 9
ARCP outcome 5 Reviews & Interviews / Wednesday March 21 am
ST1 – ST6
Submission of paperwork (ST1-ST6) / Friday May 18
ARCP Panel Review / Friday May 25
ARCP Interviews 3pm / Friday May 25 ST2
ST5
MOD
ARCP Panel Review ST1 / Wednesday May 30 ST1
ARCP Interviews / Wednesday May 30 Academic am
ST1, ST3 am
ST4 ST6 pm
LATs pm
ARCP Outcome 5 Reviews and Interview / Friday June 29
December ARCPs/Interim Reviews
Submission of paperwork / Friday December 7
ARCP panel and Interview / Friday December 14 am

All paper work should be submitted by 5 pm on the date listed to:

  • Ms Yvonne Draper at West Midland Deanery,St Chads Court, 213 Hagley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham B16 9RG.

Please note that the end-of-year appraisal will need to be completed beforehand, so remember to book a date with your supervisors well in advance!

Any further queries may be addressed to the following:

Mrs Rosemary Robinson or

Mr Steve Scotcher or

Mrs Yvonne Draper

Rosemary Robinson

Head of School

University Hospital Coventry & Warwickshire Hospital

West Midland Deanery School of Ophthalmology ARCP Checklist

Paper Work Evidence to be submitted in advance

  1. Trainee demographic data (Form 1)
  2. Final Educational supervisor report (Form 4)
  3. CV for ST5 and above only(CVs for ST1-4 will not be reviewed due to time limitations)

Quality Assurance Paperwork

  1. Certificate of completion of JEST survey Feb 2012
  2. Certificate of completion of GMC trainee survey 2012

E-portfolio evidence to be to be viewed online

  1. Educational supervisor report (Form 4) for first 6 months
  2. Clinical supervisor reports (Form 3) x 4 (ASTO at least 2)
  3. Copy of any examination certificates achieved since last ARCP
  4. WBAs (must be 100% complete for stage)
  5. MSF
  6. Completed CPD diary and scanned certificates of attendance

Please Note

Failure to provide feedback on training (by completion of JEST and GMC survey)or poor attendance at regional postgraduate and local education teaching sessions will result in an unsatisfactory ARCP outcome on instructions from the dean.

R Robinson Updated February 2012Page 1