In the UK all qualified dentists have a responsibility for continuing their professional education. CPD is defined as study, training, courses, seminars, reading and other learning activities which advance your professional development as a dentist or dental hygienist and is relevant to your practice or intended practice. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) supports dentists and dental care professionals in maintaining and updating their skills, knowledge and behaviour throughout their working life. It may also contribute to the delivery of good quality dental care and service provisions to patients.
Am I required to undertake CPD as Dentist or Dental Hygienist?
As a registered dental professional you have a duty to maintain, develop and work within your professional knowledge and skills to ensure your personal behaviour maintains patients’ confidence so that you can provide the best possible treatment and care to the dental profession.
The General Dental Council (GDC) introduced compulsory registration and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for dental care professionals in 2008. The GDC is an organisation that regulates dentists and ensures that these individuals meet the professional standards as set out by the GDC in order to maintain professional registration. Dental care professionals include Dentists, Dental Nurses, Dental Hygienists, Dental Technicians, Clinical Dental Technicians, Dental and Orthodontic Therapists.
All dental professionals are required to take part in Enhanced Continual Professional Development to maintain their registration and meet current GDC standards. This is important as it enables dentists to keep up to date with developments within the dental industry. This helps to ensure that knowledge and skills meet the required and often changing standards through reflective learning. It is the dentist’s responsibility to keep their skills and knowledge up-to-date.
CPD Requirements for Dentists
The GDC requires each registrant to make an annual declaration of their CPD. Failure to record CPD may result in dentists being removed from the dentists register. Under the Enhanced Continual Professional Development (ECPD) scheme, dentists will need to complete a minimum of 100 hours verifiable CPD over their five year cycle as well as ensuring they declare at least 10 hours during any 2 year period. A new requirement is that registrants cannot make a declaration of zero hours of CPD in two consecutive years.
From 1 January 2018 all dentists were moved on to the enhanced CPD scheme. The new model aims to encourage professionals to take a cyclical approach to their CPD, involving planning, undertaking and reflection, using a personal development plan (PDP). Depending on where you are in your cycle you will have to complete CPD based on the current and new scheme to be compliant at the end of the cycle. Once your current cycle ends, the CPD requirements for your next cycle will be based on the new scheme. The main changes to the scheme are:
- The requirement for all dental professionals to have a personal development plan (PDP);
- An increase in the number of verifiable CPD hours for most professional titles and the requirement to spread the hours more evenly across the five year cycle;
- Dental professionals no longer have to declare non-verifiable CPD to the GDC;
- The requirement to make an annual statement of CPD hours completed, even if zero hours have been completed for that year;
- The requirement to align CPD activity with specific development outcomes;
- The requirement for professionals to plan CPD activity according to their individual “field(s) of practice”.
- The emphasis on reflective practice, and the use of the PDP to identify learning needs and direct learning;
- Removal of non-verifiable CPD;
- The reduction in the number of hours of CPD – 100 hours for dentists, 75 hours for most DCP groups, 50 hours for dental nurses and technicians;
For a registered dental care professional, this boosts confidence and also allows dentists and dental hygienists to provide exemplary service and the highest quality patient care. Dental hygienists and dental therapists will be required to undertake 150 hours of CPD over a five year cycle. One third of the requirement will be termed verifiable CPD.
More about GDC CPD Requirements
As a dental professional you must plan your CPD activities as they relate to your field of practice during your CPD cycle. To help support you in your CPD choices the GDC has identified some relevant CPD topics that will relate to many dental professionals in their field of practice. These are highly recommended to do as part of the minimum verifiable CPD requirement:
- Medical Emergencies: at least 10 hours in every CPD cycle –recommended that you do at least two hours of CPD in this every year;
- Disinfection and Decontamination: recommended that you do at least five hours in every CPD cycle;
- Radiography and radiation protection: recommended that you do at least five hours in every CPD cycle. This applies only to those who undertake radiography. If you are a dental technician you can do CPD in materials and equipment instead of radiography and radiation protection: at least five hours in every CPD cycle.
It is also recommended that you keep up to date by doing CPD in the following areas:
- Legal and ethical issues;
- Complaints handling;
- Oral Cancer: Early detection;
- Safeguarding children and young people; and
- Safeguarding vulnerable adults
Over a five-year cycle dental care professionals are required to achieve Enhanced CPD outlined as follows:
- Dentists – 100 hours.
- Dental Therapist, Hygienist, orthodontic Therapist & Clinical Dental Technician – 75 hours
- Dental Nurses & Dental Technicians –50 hours
It is therefore extremely important that all dental care professionals are aware of what is required to maintain their registration and should ensure that relevant subjects are completed. There are many dental care professionals who do not meet the minimum requirement of CPD hours may be taken off the GDC register. This will mean the dental professional will be unable to work as a dental nurse, dental hygienist, dental therapist, dental technician or orthodontic therapist until they are able to prove that the requirements of CPD have been met. If a dental professional is taking a break from the register it is important that CPD is maintained so that they are able to restore their name to the register when they choose to return to work. Otherwise they will need to catch up with their CPD before they can do this.
Verifiable and Non verifiable CPD in the Dental Industry
Verifiable CPD
At the end of the five year cycle dentists and dental professionals should have evidence that they have completed a minimum of 50 hours of verifiable CPD. In addition, the GDC have identified core subjects that dental professionals should do as part of the 50 hours of verifiable CPD. The GDC do not accredit specific CPD providers and it is up to the individual to decide whether the activity meets the set criteria for verifiable CPD which is laid down by the GDC.
Criteria for verifiable CPD
- The activity needs to have a clear purpose or aim
- There should be clear anticipated learning outcomes so that it is clear what is to be gained from completing the activity
- There needs to be a method of feedback for quality control purposes so that providers can continue to improve the quality of CPD offered
- A certificate needs to be issued from the CPD organiser which documents the number of hours the CPD activity equates to
Non-verifiable CPD / general CPD
If the activity does not meet the required criteria to count as verifiable CPD it can be counted towards the required 100 hours of non-verifiable (general) CPD. In addition to the core subjects dentists and dental hygienists should complete, the GDC recommend that dental professionals also complete verifiable or general CPD in the following areas:
- Legal and ethical issues
- Complaints handling
- Oral cancer early detection
Recording CPD
Each year, dentists and dental hygienists are required to record the number of CPD hours that have been completed during the year. At the end of the five year cycle dental professionals will be asked to confirm the hours that have been completed over the five years. The GDC will carry out a CPD audit and a percentage of dentists will then be required to send documentary evidence of their CPD. It is therefore important that records are kept of all the verifiable and general CPD that has been completed.
The process of recording and reflecting is equally important to manage your ongoing CPD effectively. myCPD Portal is a free CPD record tool that can help professionals to log Continuing Professional Development training in one simple place, set annual CPD targets, store CPD certificates of attendance, and track learning progress.
This article began to outline why Continuing Professional Development is so integral when working as a Dentist or Dental Hygienist professional, the latest GDC industry requirements, as well as what types of learning activities are considered as Verifiable and Non Verifiable CPD. We hope this article was helpful. For more information please visit the CPD Industry Hubs for more CPD articles, courses and events relevant to your Continuing Professional Development requirements
