RCGP Credit Scheme for GP CPD

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RCGPCredit Scheme for GP CPD

• A short guide

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CPD Credits scheme

• The RCGP has been working with the Academy of
  Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC) on a suitable CPD
  scheme to fall in line with standards of other
  colleges.
• In June 2008, the RCGP endorsed the Credits
  Scheme for GP CPD
• The RCGP scheme will accommodate GPs different
  needs and styles of learning. It will be suitable
  for all GPs, whatever the stage of their career
  or their working circumstances. It will be
  equally accessible to members and non-members of
  the College and will be applicable to all UK GPs.
  
• The accreditation framework for CPD will help
  practising GPs fulfil the requirements of the
  forthcoming revalidation process for all GPs.

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What is Continuing Professional Development (CPD)?

• CPD is a continuing learning process
  that supports GPs to stay up to date and maintain
  and improve their standards across all areas of
  their practice and career development.
  CPD encourages and supports specific changes in
  the quality and delivery of a doctor's practice
  from professional, patient and service
  requirement perspectives.
• CPD includes any educational or professional
  activity directed towards developing the
  knowledge, skills, attitudes and personal
  effectiveness necessary to improve practice.
• CPD may also include the impact seen on others
  (through teaching or dissemination of
  information) and the impact seen on systems (e.g.
  project work or implementation of guidelines
  etc.)

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What will the Credit Based System look like?

• The RCGP CPD scheme will include all of the
  different types of learning activities which GPs
  undertake as part of their CPD, including
  practice based learning.
• It will be based on self accreditation allowing
  inclusion of a range of learning activities, e.g.
  reflective notes on practice, notes of case
  discussions, team meetings, significant event
  analysis as well as academic or educational
  courses.
• It is proposed that a credit will be based on the
  impact of the activity and to a lesser extent the
  challenge encountered in performing that
  activity.
• The RCGP scheme will positively weight the impact
  of an activity compared to the challenge involved
  thereby encouraging activities that produce
  positive change.

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What is involved?

• The majority of GPs will be expected to achieve
  50 credits a year aggregating to 250 credits in a
  five year revalidation cycle.
• The completed CPD folder should reflect the range
  and circumstances of an individual GPs practice,
  a narrow range of activity focused on interest is
  not acceptable and should be identified and
  addressed at appraisal
• The construction and application of the PDP
  within a managed and quality assured appraisal
  system should in turn quality assure the RCGP
  credits system.

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What is a Credit?

• A credit is a unit of professional development
  which is a product of the impact of a
  developmental activity and to a lesser extent the
  challenge involved in its completion.

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Impact in this context may include

• Impact on the individual (personal development)
• Impact on service (e.g. becoming a training
  practice, teaching others, implementing a clinic
  system)
• Impact on patients (e.g. a change in practice,
  initiating a new drug this has obvious overlaps
  with personal development)

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Challenge in this context may be

• Context related (e.g. more challenging to become
  a new training practice than a trainer in an
  established training practice)
• Related to circumstances (e.g. a sessional GP
  undertaking audit is often faced with
  problems around the data
  and follow up)
• Related to personal ability (e.g. personal
  disability, prior skills, prior experience etc)
• Related to effort expended (e.g. attending an
  ophthalmology clinic for a whole day 40 miles
  away to gain experience)

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Benchmarking
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Suggested Actions to Maximise Credits

• Demonstrate change
• Audit activity, Change Practice, Re-Audit
• E.g. Referral rates/patterns, Action on results,
  prescribing patterns,

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Examples

• Used the Essential General Practice on line
  module on Chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic
  encephalomyelitis (or encephalopathy) this was
  focused on the NICE guidance firstly this has
  helped me in understanding at least four of my
  personal patients problems so much better.
• I have had a very productive consultation with
  one of them and realized (along with the patient)
  that fluoxetine is not helping and we have agreed
  withdrawal.
• I used the suggested exercise to check out what
  I did in my own practice and found that the four
  cases I could identify all had significant
  periods of misdiagnosis (usually depression) and
  probably inappropriate treatment before the penny
  dropped.
• I have further evidence in my form 3 to show the
  significance of the change at a personal level
  and the reduction in prescribing of anti
  depressants in this group
• claim 8 credits

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• Have been approved as a trainer and our practice
  has become a training practice for the first time
  see form 3 highlighting the changes we need to
  make within the practice and the process of
  convincing two of my partners of the value of
  this we all seem to be excited with the
  prospect of our first registrar this August
• claim 50 credits
• New indication for antibiotic prescribing in
  splenectomised patients we have 4 I have
  examined the records to ensure we are following
  the guidelines we are this is of some
  importance to this small group of patients
  (written up in form 3 evidence)
• claim 2 credits
• www.rcgp.org.uk