Guidance

The standards and general requirements for revalidation are set by the GMC. The College, together with the surgical specialty associations, has set the specialty-specific requirements for surgical revalidation. All of our guidance should be read together with key guidance from the GMC. You might find it useful to familiarise yourself with the following GMC documents:

• GMC Good Medical Practice (2013)
• GMC Good Medical Practice Framework for Appraisal and Revalidation
• GMC Supporting Information for Appraisal and Revalidation

The College and surgical specialty associations have developed the following guidance on how these generic standards and requirements apply in surgical practice.

Guidance on the revalidation process

The Revalidation Guide for Surgery brings together key information on the revalidation process and provides answers to some of the most frequently asked questions on surgical revalidation:

• Revalidation Guide for Surgery

Supporting information

Our guidance on supporting information supplements the GMC guidance and provides additional specific advice and examples for surgery. We have also developed a two-page checklist that provides a summary of all requirements for surgical revalidation:

• Supporting information guidance for surgeons
• Supporting information checklist

Continuing Professional Development (CPD)

We have produced a Summary CPD Guidance for Surgery that explains the CPD requirements for surgical revalidation. This includes a one-page CPD checklist which can be used as an aid during appraisal discussions. The guide can be read in conjunction with the Full Guidance on CPD for Surgeons. You can find further information on CPD opportunities and support offered by the College in our dedicated CPD page.

• Summary CPD guidance for surgery
• Full CPD guidance for surgery

Surgical outcomes

The use of outcomes measures is an integral part of surgical appraisal and revalidation. Participation in clinical audits and the practice of measuring outcomes as a regular part of clinical work supports best practice and the improvement of patient care. The specialty associations have produced specialty-specific outcome frameworks to provide detailed guidance on supporting information relating to outcomes and audit For further support with your involvement in outcome measures see our dedicated audit and outcomes page.

Outcomes framework guidance:

• Cardiothoracic surgery
• ENT surgery
• General surgery
• Neurosurgery
• Oral and Maxillofacial surgery
• Paediatric surgery
• Plastic surgery
• Trauma and Orthopaedic surgery
• Urology
• Vascular surgery

Additional guidance

• Example appraisal portfolios - The College, working with the NHS Revalidation Support Team, has produced example appraisal portfolios which demonstrate what a good appraisal portfolio could look like for surgery.
• Colleague and patient feedback guidance - this guidance provides an overview of collecting feedback for revalidation and highlights the resources that exist to support surgeons in this process.
• Revalidation guidance for SAS surgeons - this guidance identifies the key challenges for SAS surgeons in revalidation and brings together relevant policy, guidance and tools to assist SAS surgeons with their revalidation.
• Revalidation guidance for locum surgeons - this guidance brings together relevant policy and guidance to assist locum surgeons with their revalidation.