Personal Development Plans (PDP) in GMC MPTS Cases
Doctors’ Personal Development Plans and The GMC
Personal Development Plans (PDPs) help doctors to plan and acquire evidence of remediation for GMC processes and MPTS hearings. PDPs need careful consideration and bespoke planning with measurable outcomes.
The GMC provides a rudimentary template for creating PDPs, and it is a good starting point, but it will often be too simplistic for more complex cases. Therefore, a detailed, bespoke PDP should be created with the input from an educational supervisor and clinical supervisor, where they are available. Failing that, a doctor should do their best to look at the historical concerns and identify the elements of remediation that need to be covered. The PDP is a document that evolves over time, and it should be reviewed at least monthly for tweaking. As each benchmark is met, the doctor should also write an insightful reflection, to ensure that they can evidence that the learning is thorough and embedded.
A prioritised list of a doctor’s educational needs, intended learning aims and plans for continuing professional development over a defined period. All doctors should have an active PDP that is reviewed regularly throughout their appraisal process.
For doctors with conditions or undertakings, the PDP is a starting point for remediation or retraining. The plan should cover all areas of the GMC core guidance for doctors, Good medical practice, but must specifically set out an action plan for addressing the deficiencies listed in the relevant condition or undertaking.
Against each action, the PDP should set out measures that will help assess whether the action has been achieved and a target date for completing the action. The doctor’s responsible officer (or their nominated deputy) can give a doctor advice on how to prepare a PDP. But it is the doctor’s responsibility to:
+ prepare the PDP
+ seek the responsible officer’s approval on the prepared PDP
+ carry out the activities needed
+ reflect on the impact of their learning on their performance and practice.