Navigating your first appraisal

Your appraisal is your annual opportunity to reflect on all the roles you have that require a GMC licence to practise with a trusted peer and discuss ideas for your career development and steps you can take.

Once you complete your training and have joined a GP performers list to get your first role as a fully qualified GP, you will be provided with a designated body, a responsible officer (RO) and an appraiser. How that happens varies slightly across the UK, and it's always worth checking if you're not sure, but this should all be sorted for you. The GMC has a tool to help if you're not sure who your RO and designated body is, as well as a full list of all designated bodies and their ROs with contact details.

You can then start thinking about what you want to get from your first appraisal. The best time to start preparing for it is as soon as a new appraisal year starts. That way you can ensure you are including the supporting information that best reflects your scope of work and your personal and career goals.

Engaging with annual appraisal is one element of what is needed for you to be recommended by your RO for revalidation by the General Medical Council (GMC) every five years. You don't pass or fail your appraisal. Your appraiser will use the written evidence and verbal reflection from your appraisal to simply affirm that you’ve engaged in the appraisal process.

Medical appraisal is designed to ensure our annual performance meets the behaviours and standards described in Good medical practice (GMP), published by the GMC.

The emphasis is on support and includes how you maintain your health and wellbeing, which is key to practising safely and effectively.

If you are expected to supervise members of a team you should be aware that GMP 2024 emphasises our duty to be sure that we delegate safely.

Try to familiarise yourself with GMP 2024, which describes the professional behaviours that you will be expected to demonstrate throughout your career. You’re not going to be tested on your knowledge of this, but your appraiser has been trained to facilitate your reflection on how you meet these standards.

Once you have had notification of your appraiser for the coming year make sure to check you don’t have a conflict of interest with them, e.g. if you have been employed in their practice. If there is any potential conflict of interest, you must contact your appraisal team to let them know. You'll likely have the same appraiser for two or three years, but you are able to request a new appraiser if you feel it's needed.

If all is fine with your appraiser, you can contact them to arrange your first appraisal. You may be offered the choice of a face-to-face meeting in a surgery where one of you works but, generally, you can expect a remote appraisal. You should choose a date and time within your allocated appraisal month that suits you both, where you will be uninterrupted for three hours. Though it’s worth noting that most meetings take closer to two hours. Agree the meeting for a time when you expect to be alert and able to concentrate, and ideally when you will have time to relax afterwards. It should take place in your normal working hours unless you and your appraiser agree otherwise.

During your appraisal discussion, your appraiser should help you to verbalise your reflection on your roles and bring out evidence that you are continuing to work in line with GMP. You need to reflect on supporting information relevant to the whole scope of your work. You should be offered regular comfort breaks and you can ask if you need a break.