Appraisal and revalidation

Harold Shipman, a GP in the North West, became one of England's most notorious serial killers when he murdered more than 200 of his patients over a 30-year period. The ensuing investigation was highly critical of the General Medical Council's approach to managing dangerous and incompetent doctors, and called for reform. Subsequently, Sir Liam Donaldson, outlined the principles and steps of revalidation implementation in the UK, based on discussions of the proposals in the Government White Paper, ‘Trust, assurance and safety – the regulation of health professionals in the 21st century’. Many doctors may not be fully aware of the process of appraisal and revalidation as well as the documentations required for these. In addition, it can be confusing to some as doctors in training are already being workplace assessed. The aim of this article is to provide guidance and references to doctors in training in order to prepare for appraisal and revalidation. The General Medical Council, together with the health departments in Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and England, and NHS employers, are moving into the implementation phase and will make revalidation a reality. It is planned that revalidation will be launched in late 2012.