Although the appraisal is facilitated by the Appraiser, it should be prepared for and driven by the individual appraisee.
If prepared well, it has the potential to be a beneficial exercise allowing the doctor to reflect on their practice and helping in developing their professional skills and behaviour. These are some key elements for appraisees to remember which help to make the appraisal experience as beneficial as possible:
- Clear preparation - knowing your appraisal information thoroughly and having an idea of the key items which you wish to discuss
- Ensure your personal and professional information on MARS is up to date and comprehensive
- Read and complete the probity declarations carefully, provide further information for any areas which you have disagreed with the statement. You do not need to outline all the details on MARS but your Appraiser may wish to discuss your reflections on this with you at the meeting
- Include entries within all four GMC domains as set out in the GMC's Good Medical Practice as this will help to demonstrate your breadth of practice
- Use the templates on MARS to enter any relevant information for revalidation such as a significant event or quality improvement activity
- Complete your supporting information entries at least 2 weeks (GP)/1 week (other doctors) before the appraisal date. At this point MARS will be locked for editing and you can no longer add information
- Include all your roles which require the title of Dr (for example, private or educational work) and demonstrate relevant CPD and feedback within these areas as part of whole practice appraisal as required by the GMC
- Engage with your previous PDP items, if you have any, and show how the outcomes have either been met or comment on why they haven’t been met
- There is no need to describe everything covered at a meeting etc. Use specific example to illustrate focus on learning and reflection and how this will affect your practice moving forward. Include enough information for your Appraiser to make sense of your entry and understand what you have done. This is about quality rather than quantity.
- Although maintaining entries within MARS is important, it is the reflection on what has come from a particular incident or learning event that should be focussed on (so, what does this mean for me or my patients or my practice or the NHS?)
- Have an idea of what you might want to include within your PDP for the following year
- Be aware of your revalidation date (this can be found on your GMC Online account or MARS revalidation progress page) and work your way towards completing the required information e.g. CPD, quality improvement activity, significant events, compliments and complaints and feedback from patients and colleagues