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ECPD 5-year cycle Personal Development Plan (PDP)

By DTA | 1st May 2024 | News

When logging into the CPD area you may have received a message that your new 5-year cycle has begun and that it is time for you to complete your new personal development plan.

The start date for your CPD cycle depends on the date you first registered with the GDC. If you are a dental care professional your first 5-year cycle will begin on the next 1 August after you first register. The Enhanced CPD scheme was introduced in 2018, if you registered with the GDC before 2018 your initial 5-year cycle date will be 2018. Your CPD cycle is always five years long, and this is the period in which you must complete at least the minimum number of CPD hours, including verifiable CPD.

It is important to check that the initial 5-year cycle date on your DTA account is correct as this is used to calculate when your next 5-year cycle begins. You can update this in the members' area under Update your details - Personal Development Plan.

If you are starting a new 5-year CPD cycle this year please remember to complete your personal development plan as this is part of your CPD record. It is a GDC requirement of a dental care professional to have a PDP to plan CPD activity according to your field(s) of practice. DTA provide all members with a template for a personal development plan to update within the members' area.

Personal Development Plan 

The Personal Development Plan (PDP) gives you the opportunity to think about what CPD will give you maximum benefit for maintaining and developing your practice as a dental professional. At the beginning of your cycle you will identify your maintenance and learning needs in your field of practice, and how this relates to the GDC's development outcomes. You can then plan how you will meet these needs through CPD activity regularly across your cycle. You can also add to your personal development plan throughout your 5-year cycle as your needs change and develop.

Within your PDP you need to indicate your field of practice e.g. prosthetics, crown and bridge, orthodontics etc. Your field of practice is likely to be broader than your scope of practice as indicated in the GDC booklet. For example, you may also have management, mentoring or other business activities that your PDP can reflect.

Recording and submitting CPD

It is important for dental professionals to keep their CPD records up to date and safe. Those registered with the GDC need to submit a CPD statement every year when renewing their registration, keep a CPD record, and maintain a personal development plan (PDP). Although CPD certificates and your personal development plan are saved in your members area, it is good practice to download and save them electronically to your own device.

Plan and record your CPD

Keep an active record of your plans and activities:

  • design your own learning and development using your PDP
  • use an activity log to record the CPD you complete
  • keep your certificates to verify your CPD.

These documents make up your CPD record. It must be retained for five years from the end of your five-year cycle. Remember to also reflect on the CPD you complete, and record reflections in your activity log.

For the GDC, your PDP must include:

  1. The CPD you plan to undertake during your cycle, which must include CPD that is relevant to your current or intended field(s) of practice;
  2. The anticipated development outcomes that will link to each activity;
  3. The timeframes in which you expect to complete your CPD over your cycle.

You might find that your field of practice or learning needs change, and so you should adjust your plan and activity accordingly. The GDC encourages you to review your plan annually as it relates to your role and daily work and you can simply update it in your members area.

Please note: The PDP is for your personal use.

Having a PDP in place assures the GDC that your CPD activity supports your work as a dental professional. The GDC may ask to see your PDP to check you are keeping records which meet the minimum requirements as set out above. Beyond this, the details about which CPD you plan within the PDP are not evaluated by the GDC.

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