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REVALIDATION


Webpage updated: 20th January 2010

What is Revalidation?

Revalidation is a set of procedures, operated by the GMC, to evaluate a doctor’s fitness to practice. A positive Revalidation outcome is a condition of GPs continuing to hold a Licence to Practice. In December 2008, the GMC started writing to all doctors on the medical register about the introduction of the new License to Practice, which will be introduced in Autumn 2009. All registered doctors will receive a leaflet which explains what the introduction of licensing means for them. Revalidation encompasses two components:

  • Relicensure – As highlighted above, and in line with the Good Medical Practice, all licensed doctors will need to demonstrate to the GMC (normally every five years) that they are practising in accordance with the generic standards of practice set by the GMC.
  • Recertification – This applies to doctors included in the GMC’s Specialist or General Practitioners registers. To recertify, doctors will demonstrate that they continue to adhere to the standards that are relevant to their specialist skills or particular area of practice.

Although relicensing and recertification are separate components of revalidation, the GMC intends that they will operate as a single set of processes. For both components, the evidence supporting a doctor’s revalidation will be largely generated from within the workplace and brought together through appraisal. There will be a single recommendation to the GMC on whether a doctor should be revalidated, and this will cover both relicensing and recertification.  For further information on Revalidation, please visit the RCGP Revalidation webpage.

 

 

Guide to the Revalidation of General Practitioners

 

The Guide to the revalidation of General Practitioners is regularly updated in line with any developments in the systems and processes being developed for the revalidation of general practitioners. The latest version of the guide can be accessed by clicking here.

 

 

RCGP Guide to the Credit-Based System for CPD

 

To accompany the Revalidation Guide, the College has also released guidance on the CPD Credits Based System. Click on the link to view the latest version of the RCGP Guide to the Credit-Based System for CPD

 

Frequently Asked Questions

In addition to the second version of the 'Guide to the Revalidation of General Practitioners', the RCGP has also developed a "Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) page, answering some of the frequently asked Revalidation questions that have been posed by GPs. To view the FAQ's, please click here.