Reflective Practice for Patient Benefit: An Analysis of Doctors' Appraisal Portfolios in Scotland.

Introduction: Reflective practice has become the cornerstone of continuing professional development for doctors, with the expectation that it helps to develop and sustain the workforce for patient benefit. Annual appraisal is mandatory for all practicing doctors in the United Kingdom as part of medical revalidation. Doctors submit a portfolio of supporting information forming the basis of their appraisal discussion where reflection on the information is mandated and evaluated by a colleague, acting as an appraiser.

Appraisal; the next steps?

Appraisal offers an opportunity for both the clinician and the employer to demonstrate commitment to their professional responsibilities in a tangible manner that can benefit patients, the individual clinician and the service. One unintentional consequence of revalidation may have been to foster a belief that it has undermined the educational and developmental aspects of appraisal. The objective of promoting transparency and accountability through revalidation may have led some clinicians to feel they work in a culture of greater scrutiny and assessment, leading to an erosion of their engagement with the process.

The implications of enhancing appraisal to meet the requirements of revalidation, as perceived by appraisers: a qualitative study in Scotland.

This paper describes a qualitative study which explored the possible impact of enhanced appraisal and the requirements of revalidation upon GP appraisers in Scotland. So far there has been little research examining the impact 'enhanced' appraisal may have on the appraisee or appraiser population. Key objectives were to identify potential benefits and problems with the introduction of enhanced appraisal for the appraiser population and to explore what they perceive its impact will be on the GP workforce more generally.

Pilot study to develop and test a generic peer feedback instrument to review videotaped consultations in primary care.

Background: The ability to consult effectively is key to the delivery of quality patient care. External peer review of consultations has been available to general medical practitioners (GPs) in the west of Scotland for several years. Pharmacists are expected to provide increasingly complex advice for patients.

How should we train consultant appraisers? Description and evaluation of a pilot training model developed in Scotland.

Objectives: This paper outlines a model developed by NHS Education for Scotland to pilot consultant appraiser training. The training was aimed at both new/inexperienced appraisers and experienced appraisers. A Course for New/Inexperienced Appraisers was held over 2 days and the Experienced Course over 1 day.

What are the concerns of prospective responsible officers about their role in medical revalidation?

Introduction: The Health and Social Care Act 2008 sets out the requirement for the introduction of responsible officers for the NHS. The paper states that these individuals will be responsible for ensuring that doctors who are revalidated meet the required standards. It is not known how well prepared prospective responsible officers are for their new role.

A review of further training for GP appraisers in Scotland.

A one-day further intensive skills (FIS) course has been developed to provide additional training for existing general practitioner (GP) appraisers in Scotland. The course focuses on skills in developing the appraisee's personal development portfolio (PDP) and skills in responding to significant issues (with emotional content) presented by appraisees - both key areas for effective appraisals. The course is briefly described.

Verifying appraisal evidence using feedback from trained peers: views and experiences of Scottish GP appraisers.

Background: GP appraisal is currently considered inadequate because it lacks robustness. Objective assessment of appraisal evidence is needed to enable judgements on professional performance to be made.

Aim: To determine GP appraisers' views of the acceptability, feasibility, and educational impact of external peer feedback received on three core appraisal activities undertaken as part of this study.

GP peer appraisal in Scotland: an ongoing and developing exercise in quality.

GP appraisal in Scotland is a strong and vibrant process. Not least this is due to NES's commitment to the ongoing development of its appraisers. Research suggests that the key to effective appraisal is the skill of the appraiser.

What do doctors really think about the relevance and impact of GP appraisal 3 years on? A survey of Scottish GPs.

Background: The aim of appraisal is to provide an opportunity for individuals to reflect on their work to facilitate learning and development. Appraisal for GPs has been a contractual requirement since 2004 in Scotland, and is seen as an integral part of revalidation.

Aim: To investigate the outcomes of GP appraisal in terms of whether it has prompted change in medical practice, education and learning, career development, attitudes to health and probity, how GPs organise their work, and their perception of the overall value of the process.