A Diagram from the Gold Guide Illustrating the Place of ARCP

The Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP) Collecting the evidence

7.41 Each specialty is required by PMETB to map its assessment processes against the approved curriculum and the GMC’s Good Medical Practice. A structured report should be prepared by the trainee’s educational supervisor and should reflect the evidence which the trainee and supervisor agreed should be collected to reflect the learning agreement for the period of training under review. The purpose of the report is to collate the results of the required in-work assessments, examinations and further experiential activities required by the specialty curriculum (e.g. logbooks, publications, audits). It is strongly recommended that all trainees and educational supervisors familiarise themselves with PMETB’s document on Workplace Based Assessment (January 2005) which can be found at PMETB Workplace based assessment as well as the relevant Royal College curriculum and assessment programme.

7.42 The trainee’s educational supervisor may also be his/her clinical supervisor (particularly in small specialties and small training units), although wherever possible this should be avoided. Under such circumstances, the educational supervisor could be responsible for some of the in-work assessments, for producing the structured report, as well as for providing educational and workplace based appraisal for the trainee.

7.43 Great care will need to be taken to ensure that these roles are not confused and indeed, under such circumstances, the trainee’s educational supervisor should discuss with the Training Programme Director and, if necessary, the Postgraduate Dean, a strategy for ensuring that there is no conflict of interest in undertaking educational appraisal and assessment for an individual trainee.

7.44 Deaneries will make local arrangements to receive the necessary documentation from trainees and will give them at least six weeks notice of the date by which it is required so that trainees can obtain structured reports from their educational supervisors summarising their portfolio from their educational supervisors. Trainees will not be “chased” to provide the documentation by the required date but should be aware that failure to do so will result in the panel failing to consider their progress. As a consequence, the trainee will not be able to document attained competences or progress in the specialty for the period under review. Failure to comply with the requirement to present evidence is dealt with in para 7.46. In time it is anticipated that annual assessment panels will receive the evidence, which is largely but not exclusively the structured report, electronically. This is dependent on the development of e-portfolios for each specialty to support training.

7.45 Trainees must submit, as part of their documentary evidence for each annual review, an updated Registration Form (Form R), giving accurate demographic details for use on the Deanery database.

7.46 It is up to the trainee to ensure that the documentary evidence which is submitted is complete. This should include evidence which the trainee may view as negative. Unsuccessful workplace based assessment outcomes (WPBAs) need not be included in the evidence submitted to the ARCP. Unsuccessful workplace based assessments should however be retained in the trainee’s portfolio so that they are available for discussion with educational supervisors during educational appraisal discussions.

7.47 Where the documentary evidence submitted is incomplete or otherwise inadequate so that a panel cannot reach a judgement, no decision should be taken about the performance or progress of the trainee. The failure to produce timely, adequate evidence for the panel will result in an Incomplete outcome (Outcome 5) and will require the trainee to explain to the panel and Deanery in writing the reasons for the deficiencies in the documentation. The fact that outcome 5 has occurred will remain as a part of the trainee’s record but once the relevant evidence has been submitted then a new outcome will be added according to the evidence evaluated by the assessment panel.

7.48 It may be necessary for the Training Programme Director (TPD) to provide an additional report, for example detailing events that led to a negative assessment by the trainee’s educational supervisor. It is essential that the trainee has been made aware of this and has seen the report prior to its submission to the panel. It is not intended that the trainee should agree the report’s content but is intended to ensure that the trainee is aware of what had been said. Where the report indicates that there may be a risk to patients arising from the trainee’s practice, this risk needs to be shared with the Postgraduate Dean and the current employer (see the workplace based NHS appraisal process – para 7.24 – 7.27). The trainee needs to be made aware that this is the case.

7.49 The trainee may submit, as part of their evidence to the ARCP, a response to the trainers’ report or to any other element of the assessment documentation for the panel to take into account in their deliberations. Whilst such a document will be considered “privileged” and will be viewed and considered only by the panel in the first instance, depending on its content the trainee must expect that it will be followed up appropriately. Where, for example, a trainee raises allegations of bullying, harassment or other inappropriate conduct on the part of a trainer or other healthcare professional, such allegations must be taken very seriously. Whilst the panel itself is not set up to investigate or deal with allegations of this nature, it will bring such concerns to the attention of the Deanery in writing immediately following the panel for further consideration and possible investigation by the employing authority. All Deaneries and employers of specialty trainees will have policies on managing allegations of inappropriate learning and working environments. Trainees are encouraged to follow these policies and training providers must make their policies on bullying and harassment known to trainees as part of their induction.