Column GDC guidance with Ian Jackson
Quality control K
Director for Scotland at the GDC, Ian Jackson, gives an update on recent advice from the regulator about CPD quality
eeping skills and knowledge up to date is at the heart of what it means to be a dental professional. Continuing professional development
(CPD) is a compulsory part of registration with the General Dental Council (GDC), but it can also contribute to the delivery of good-quality care. It can support dental professionals in maintaining and updating their skills, knowledge and behaviour throughout their professional lives. CPD can be undertaken via a wide range
of activities, such as courses and lectures, training days, attending conferences, and e-learning activity. The quality of CPD undertaken is likely to have an impact on how well it supports a dental professional
CPD REQUIREMENTS
Dentists • If you are a dentist, your first five-year CPD cycle will begin on 1 January in the year after you first register.
• You must carry out at least 250 hours of CPD every five years. At least 75 of these hours need to be verifiable CPD.
• You are highly recommended to carry out verifiable CPD in recommended topic areas as part of the 75-hour minimum amount.
Dental care professionals • If you are a dental care professional, your first five-year cycle will begin on 1 August in the year after you first register.
• You must carry out at least 150 hours
of CPD every five years. At least 50 of these hours need to be verifiable CPD.
• You are highly recommended to carry out verifiable CPD in recommended topic areas as part of the 50-hour minimum amount.
Recommended topic areas (‘core CPD’)
a. Medical emergencies: at least 10 hours in every CPD cycle – the GDC recommends that you do at least two hours of CPD in this every year. b. Disinfection and decontamination: the GDC recommends that you do at least five hours in every CPD cycle. c. Radiography and radiation protection: the GDC recommends that you do at
least five hours in every CPD cycle. If you are a dental technician you can do CPD in materials and equipment instead of radiography and radiation protection: at least five hours in every CPD cycle.
The GDC also recommends that you keep up to date by doing CPD (verifiable or general) in the following areas. • Legal and ethical issues • Complaints handling • Oral cancer: early detection. We make these recommendations because we believe regularly keeping up to date in these topics makes a contribution to patient safety.
Scottish Dental magazine 59
to meet the ‘Standards for the Dental Team’, as well as whether the CPD activity was a good use of time and, perhaps, money. With this in mind, we have recently published an advice sheet on quality controls for verifiable CPD. The advice sheet provides guidance
for dental professionals, and also to those who design, deliver and commission CPD in dentistry, about approaches for quality control. It provides suggestions about quality control measures for verifiable CPD activities and emphasises that they should be present at all stage of provision – before, during and after. Quality controls are a legal
requirement of verifiable CPD and should be in place no matter what form the
® For further information about CPD, please visit the GDC website:
www.gdc-uk.org
CPD activity is delivered or received in, and irrespective of whether the CPD activity is paid for or free. You can download the advice sheet from the GDC website at
www.gdc-uk.org/ CPDqualitycontrols The advice sheet expands on the
advice available in the Frequently Asked Questions about CPD on the GDC website. It is advisory only and does not change the current CPD requirements for dental professionals, available in our booklet Continuing professional development for dental professionals. We also continue to remind those who
provide CPD for dental professionals that they should ensure that they robustly quality assure their CPD products and services and that ‘quality control’ is a legal requirement of verifiable CPD.
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