Encouraging Dental Nurses To Get Ahead with ECPD, remembering the 10/2 rule too.
GDC calls for particular focus on CPD as dental care professionals’ annual renewal opens
The annual renewal period for dental care professionals (DCPs) opens today with the General Dental Council (GDC) calling for professionals to check their CPD record now to make sure they’ve completed enough hours to meet the minimum requirements for ongoing registration.
In addition to paying the Annual Retention Fee and making their indemnity statement by 31 July, professionals need to make sure they make a compliant CPD statement on time, including having completed at least 10 hours of CPD over the last two years. With more than 3,000 DCPs falling foul of at least one of the CPD requirements last year, the regulator is keen to highlight the requirements.
There are three steps to completing annual renewal. For DCPs these are:
- Pay the Annual Retention Fee by 31 July.
- Make their indemnity declaration by 31 July.
- Complete the required amount of CPD by 31 July and go on to make an annual or end-of-cycle CPD statement by 28 August.
GDC Chief Operating Officer, Gurvinder Soomal, said:
“The vast majority of dental care professionals complete all aspects of their registration renewal every year without any complications. But last year, more than 3,000 did not meet the requirements for CPD for reasons unrelated to COVID-19.
“Keeping up with professional development is an essential part of being a healthcare professional but there are also immediate practical impacts of not making a compliant CPD statement for the individual and their dental team, as non-compliance can interrupt their ability to practice. It takes just a few minutes to check your CPD record to make sure you have done enough – and if you find out now that you need to do more, you have enough time to put it right before the end of July.”
The GDC is also reminding DCPs of the need to meet minimum CPD requirements following two years of flexibility – supporting those who may have found it difficult to access CPD during the pandemic.
The GDC provides more information about annual renewal and CPD on its website.
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Notes to Editor
- The General Dental Council (GDC) is the UK-wide statutory regulator of just over 113,000 members of the dental team, including approximately 42,000 dentists and 70,000 DCPs. Our primary purpose is to protect patient safety and maintain public confidence in dental services. To achieve this, we register qualified dental professionals, set standards of dental practice, investigate complaints about dental professionals’ fitness to practise, and work to ensure the quality of dental education. The Dentists Act 1984 provides the legislative framework for our work. For more information visit gdc-uk.org.uk
- The Enhanced Continuing Professional Development (CPD) scheme came into force on 1 January 2018 for dentists and 1 August 2018 for DCPs. CPD for dental professionals is defined in law as “learning, training or other developmental activities which can reasonably be expected to maintain and develop a person’s practice as a dentist or dental care professional, and is relevant to the person’s field of practice”. CPD cannot be a one-size-fits-all – to be effective it must be tailored to the individual’s needs. The Enhanced CPD scheme is designed to be flexible, so activity can be planned to suit the individual’s professional needs across their five-year cycle. For more information visit gdc-uk.org/ecpd
