ARCP

ARCP stands for Annual Review of Competency Progression.  The ARCP panel  meets yearly to review how each trainee is progressing in terms of the 13 Professional Capabilties defined by the RCGP. 

They do this by comprehensively reviewing their ePortfolio in a structured way.   It does not involve a face-to-face review of the trainee.   That is why maintaining the ePortfolio is important – a trainee is judged via their ePortfolio, and not face-to-face.   Their ePortfolio is what represents them. 

If a trainee is deemed to be doing well, they can then be signed off to go onto the next ST year (or be given their Certificated of Completion of Training – CCT – if they are in their final year).     For the ARCP panel to be able to sign the trainee off, on top of having the right number of Work-Place Based Assessments and log entries,  they have to have their Educational and Clinical Supervisor’s reports uploaded. If an ARCP is deemed unsatisfactory, a trainee may be called by a central panel for a face-to-face review.

Basically, January and July of every year. So it’s a bad time to book a holiday then – in case you are needed for a face-to-face review.

• Make sure you have had a recent ES meeting.  If so, hopefully all the things below will have been done.    
• Complete any missing/outstanding items from your ES meeting  e.g. WPBA, PDPs, OOH etc.
• Upload your Form R – and detail any serious complaints and incidents.
• Get a CSR done for each post
• Make sure you have enough WPBAs (e.g. COTs/CATs). Minimum requirements can be found here. The assessments should also show competence levels appropriate to your stage of training and demonstrate progression and improvement over time.
• Make sure you have a good number of log entries for them to look at.  Also be certain to make sure that there is a variety of entries (like clinical encounters, professional conversations, audit/projects, significant events etc).
• Your entries need to show a good depth of reflection and analysis- like focusing on your own attitudes, ethics and core values as well as the knowledge and skills domains.   Remind your trainer or Clinical Supervisor (e.g. hospital consultant) to read AND map them to the Professional Capabilities. (N.B. Trainees map to Curriculum Headings, Trainers map to Professional Capabilities).
• Make sure you are using your PDP – and making the most of it. This should list identified learning needs, realistic ways to meet them, and show that some of them have been met.