ARCP & Assessments

Preparing for your end of year ARCP can be confusing and stressful, with a seemingly mountain of paperwork to organise and complete. This section helps simplify this process by grouping all of the required documents in one place alongside guidance as to how to prepare for these important milestones.

Your ARCP is your Annual Review of Competency Progression. In the Birmingham School we run ARCP’s throughout the year. The ARCP’s are run according to the rules set out in the Gold Guide.

You are required to have an ARCP every calendar year and will be informed of the date in plenty of time to prepare. Evidence for your ARCP should be collected throughout the year and not left until the last minute.

Stage 1

• CT1/ACCS CT2 – June/July

• CT2/ACCS CT3 – June/July

• CT3/ACCS CT4 - June/July (Aim to issue CLT Certificate)

Stage 2

• ST4 – Just after progression into ST5

• ST5 – Just before the end of ST5

Stage 3

• ST6 – Just before the end of ST6

• ST7 – EXIT ARCP within 3 months of your CCT date

If your training moves out of sync with the schedule then one of the other ARCP dates will be utilised; the most appropriate one will be utilised depending on your training progression. If there are a high number of trainees to be seen at one ARCP date then some may be moved to the next ARCP, again depending on your training level.

Your expected CCT date is now calculated by Zoe, not by HEE - please check this is correct at each ARCP.

ARCPs are organised locally by the TPD (Zoe Huish) - you will initially be contacted by email with the date of your ARCP and the deadline for uploading evidence to the LLP. In many cases, you are not required to attend the ARCP, but should book the day as study leave in case you are required to attend.

Once the evidence deadline has passed, the ARCP panel will review the evidence on your LLP and inform you of your provisional outcome, and whether you are required to attend the ARCP meeting. Trainees given a provision Outcome 2,3, or 4 will be required to attend.

All trainees will be invited to attend their ARCP. Meeting the panel face-to-face is a good opportunity to discuss any training needs/issues and receive career advice from the panel if desired, but is not compulsory (unless you are mandated to attend as above).  Trainees getting an Outcome 6 for their exit ARCP would be encouraged to attend so the panel can wish you luck on your future career.

ARCPs are exclusively held online. Should you be attending the ARCP meeting, please remember that this is a professional meeting, and your attire and location should reflect this. It is not appropriate to attend the online meeting whilst providing clinical care to a patient.

Form R

You are required to complete a Form R (Revalidation Document Part A and Part B) for your ARCP. Both parts of the form R are completed on 'TIS', and once completed, need to be uploaded to the LLP. The ARCP panel will not have access to TIS, and you will not be able to acheive an 'Outcome 1' (or Outcome 6) if this is missing.

The Form R is a self-declaration form completed by all doctors in training. Part B of the Form R is used for revalidation purposes and asks for information about recent scope of practice, time out of training, and declarations relating to revalidation. This information informs the ARCP Panel to comment on a doctor in training’s fitness to practice, which in turn informs the Dean’s recommendation to the GMC about their revalidation.

For all anaesthetists in training the Form Rs must reflect ALL clinical practice undertaken in the year the ARCP is assessing. This includes any and all work in the capacity as a registered medical practitioner, paid or unpaid, inside and outside of NHS institutions. Examples include locum work, including within their own trust, and provision of medical cover at events such as sporting events.

The panel will comprise of:

• Chairperson – TPD
• Deanery representative
• Regional Advisor
• ICM/military/academic representative if required
• Consultants with ARCP training – usually College Tutors or Educational Supervisors
• RCoA External Advisor – sometimes
• Lay Member – sometimes

The ARCP panel will review all of the evidence of your training year via the LLP. The requirements are different depending on your stage of training.

Submission of evidence should be done before the deadline (usually 2 weeks before the ARCP date) to allow the TPD to identify any shortcomings. You will need to create an ESSR which encompasses the whole period since your last ARCP, so that all unreviewed evidence is included. This ESSR will need to be signed off by your educational supervisor and college tutor, so make sure you leave enough time for this.

Trainees on the 2021 curriculum should refer to the new checklist for ARCPs from July 2022 onwards. Trainees staying on 2010 curriculum should refer to the previous national ARCP checklist on the College and BSA website.

Your ES and College Tutor will refer to the relevant ARCP checklist when reviewing your ESSR.

The LLP logbook is the only logbook to be used for ARCP.

Logbook summaries will be required for the current year of training (since your last ARCP), and a cumulative logbook for your current stage of training.

At your ARCP you will be given one of the following outcomes:

• Outcome 1: Satisfactory Progress – Achieving progress and the development of competencies at the expected rate
   
• Outcome 2: Development of specific competencies required – Additional training time not required
   
• Outcome 3: Inadequate progress – Additional training time required
   
• Outcome 4: Released from training program with or without specified competencies
   
• Outcome 5: Incomplete evidence presented – Additional training time may be required
   
• Outcome 6: Gained all required competencies – Will be recommended as having completed the training program and for award of CCT or CESR(CP). Core Trainees will be recommended for the award of Core Level Training Certificate

All ARCP outcomes will be electronically recorded on LLP.

Educational Supervisor Feedback

Your educational supervisor will receive feedback from the ARCP panel regarding their engagement and completion of the ESSR with you. The School aims to continually improve the quality of the Educational supervisors’ reports and this feedback is a vital part in this process.

For the final ARCP, the ‘Outcome 6’ and the ‘Notification of Completion of Training’ forms need to be emailed directly to the Training Department at the Royal College of Anaesthetists training@rcoa.ac.uk  because receiving those documents prompts them to begin the process of recommending a trainee to the GMC. It is preferable if they are both sent together as it just makes it slightly easier for the College but it’s not mandatory.

As part of that process the College need to check the LLP to ensure all other ARCPs have been uploaded to the ‘personal evidence’ in the library section so trainees need to do this rather than the Deanery. The College have asked that you label them appropriately (e.g. ARCP ST5 or ARCP 2013-14) then this will help to find them easier.

LTFT trainees must be reviewed by an ARCP panel at least once every calendar year, according to the Gold Guide.

This means:

- You will be invited to your ARCPs part way through a training year
- You will be assessed according to the proportion of training you have completed

At three points, your ARCP will coincide with the end of each stage of training

You will need to complete an ESSR for your ARCP the same as Full Time trainees.