The General Dental Council (GDC) has launched its new model of continuing professional development (CPD) for dentists.
Enhanced CPD (ECPD) came into force for dentists on 1 January 2018, whilst for other members of the dental team it will come into force in August 2018 and the GDC claims this will help to make CPD more focused on quality rather than quantity.
Some of the changes ECPD brings include:
- The introduction of a personal development plan (PDP) to help record CPD activity and aid further development
- A change in the number of CPD hours required (100 hours for dentists, 75 hours for hygienists, therapists, clinical technicians and orthodontic therapists and 50 hours for nurses and technicians)
- There is no longer any need to submit non-verifiable CPD.
‘When speaking to dental professionals, the desire for CPD to be much more that the “tick-box” exercise it had become was clear,’ Matthew Hill, executive director, strategy, at the GDC, said.
‘This is the first step towards achieving that goal.
‘Under this scheme, individuals will have more personal responsibility in setting and achieving their development goals.
‘I believe that dental professionals will embrace this change and I look forward to working with them to develop a system of CPD based on quality rather than quantity, which will bring benefits to them as well as patients.’
Support
The dental regulator has provided support for dentists and dental professionals on its website gdc-uk.org/ecpd.
The support available on the GDC’s website includes:
- ECPD Guidance for Professionals – this publication outlines the new ECPD requirements and aims to answer any questions dental professionals may have about ECPD
- ECPD Guidance for CPD Providers – this publication outlines the new requirements and any changes required by providers to ensure the standards for CPD are met
- PDP template – a blank PDP template is available for dental professionals to use, if they wish
- PDP examples – there are seven PDP examples available, featuring different members of the dental team, to help ensure all dental professionals understand what content is required for their PDP
- Activity log template – a blank activity log template is available for dental professionals to use, if they wish
- Activity log examples – there are three activity log examples available, which aim to ensure professionals understand what is required when recording their CPD. Please note the examples do not demonstrate a full activity log, but give examples of how professionals may record their activity and reflection.
