What standard is a new graduate expected to meet by the end of their PDP?

The average time taken to complete the PDP is 18 months. Some graduates may complete in a shorter time, some longer. It depends on their caseload. It will probably take longer than a year for someone who wants to complete their PDP in genuinely mixed practice, as they will need to gain broad experience across all three areas, rather than in just one or two. However, it is quite acceptable to complete the PDP in the context of just one main species area, eg small animal practice.

In July 2015 a time requirement of three years was introduced for completion of the PDP and we expect graduates in clinical practice to complete within this time-frame. The three year time period begins when the graduate enters their first clinical position. If a graduate finds that they cannot complete the PDP within the 3 year time requirement, they should contact the Education Officer at the RCVS or their Postgraduate Dean to explain their reasons and discuss their options.

The PDP needn’t be undertaken just in one practice or post; if the graduate changes jobs, they can continue their PDP in their second or subsequent posts. If a graduate is undertaking locum work, they can use this experience towards their PDP. However, the RCVS does not recommend that a new graduate undertakes unsupported locum work. A new graduate should not normally be left in sole charge unless they have easy and quick access to support from a more senior colleague. 

PDP will count towards your CPD requirement. We view undertaking and completing the PDP as a year’s worth of CPD and it is therefore equivalent to 35 hours of CPD activity. If you undertake your PDP over more than one year, you can add 35 hours to any calendar year or split the hours across years during that time-period.

While PDP covers your minimum CPD requirement as part of your initial development, you will also be undertaking other forms of CPD during that time (e.g. congress, practice/case discussions and meetings, reading or research), details of which should be included on your CPD record. You can count any learning or development that is relevant to you as professional person as CPD so it does not need to be formal learning or clinical CPD.

Recording all CPD, including the PDP, serves as a useful reminder and prompt for skills and career development purposes. RCVS requirements for CPD are 35 hours per year. Your PDP will count as 35 hours of CPD in the year of your choosing. 

The question is often asked about how interns working in hospital clinics or in specialist referral practices can undertake the PDP. To complete the PDP, graduates will need involvement with first opinion cases, and will also need to have primary responsibility for the clinical decision, which is one of the main competences that need to be developed during the PDP. Interns may be able to complete some of the PDP Competences, but they have to accept that they may need to go into general practice for a period of time to complete the rest of their experience. Institutions and specialist practices employing interns should make it clear that interns may not be able to complete their PDP there because of limited exposure to a varied workload, or because they may not have primary responsibility for their cases. 

Universities and other institutions may need to review their internships, and should be encouraged to distinguish in adverts between ‘PDP-conforming internships’ (ie those that would provide the intern with the range of experience and level of responsibility needed to complete PDP) and ‘PDP non-conforming internships’. This would help to provide greater transparency for new graduates.

Similarly, PhD and other research students will probably not be able to complete their PDP until they go into clinical practice at a later date. However, they may be able to record some skills if they are undertaking some part-time clinical work. 

In addition to recording case numbers, it is also essential that graduates make good use of the free-text notes section under the various clinical skills headings. Making such notes is all part of the learning process and, over time, will help graduates, their employers and the RCVS evaluate their progression. They should be encouraged to make notes based on their personal reflections, for example, on how they felt they coped with a particular case or procedure, and what they might need to do to improve their performance in a particular area. 

Notes need only be brief. For example, “problems doing IVs in dogs using the cephalic vein; probably need to make sure vein is suitably raised and blood aspirates easily before injecting”. Then perhaps later in the notes: “Much better at doing IVs, fewer haematomas”. Another example would be “feel competent with positioning, collimating, taking and processing radiographs. Would like to become more competent at interpreting radiographs, often unsure about clinical significance of findings”.  

Once graduates feel competent with a particular procedure, they can indicate this in the notes section, and not record any more case numbers for that particular procedure. There is no need to keep counting each time they take a blood sample!

An alternative approach is to enter more detailed reports of cases that may cover many different skills and procedures. After entering a case report, the graduate then links it to the skills list, ticking off in turn which skills or procedures have been covered by the case. The graduate can adopt either of these approaches within the PDP system – they can enter case numbers and add notes, or add a case report and link it to the appropriate sections of the skills list. 

It is possible that a procedure they are undertaking may not ‘fit’ with the PDP template. In such cases, the graduate should use the category that offers the closest fit and add a suitable note to explain the position. 

Many skill areas are prefaced with the phrase “clinical assessment and management of”. Some of these may sound fairly advanced, but graduates are not expected at this stage to be dealing with complicated cases completely on their own, especially if they are beyond their current competence. However, they may be dealing with cases that fit under these headings where they are making the initial clinical assessment, seeking help from a colleague with a diagnosis and treatment plan or even referring the case to a specialist. If the graduate handles the ongoing management and oversight of the case, then it can be included in their record. The graduate should remember to add notes or a case report to show what their involvement has been. 

The RCVS will allocate each graduate to a Postgraduate Dean when they register to use the PDP system. The Postgraduate Dean will monitor their progress online from time to time, and will be the point of contact for assistance with their PDP. The Postgraduate Dean will also review and sign off the record, once the graduate submits the PDP declaration form. The Postgraduate Dean is not there to advise on personal problems or employment matters, although, if such issues are raised, may refer the graduate on to other sources of support. 

The PDP will be most successful where there is active collaboration between the new or recent graduate and senior practice colleagues. For the graduate, participation in the PDP demonstrates that they are taking their continued professional development seriously, and it will help them to identify their training needs more effectively.

Online access to an experienced Postgraduate Dean is another source of advice and support. For a new graduate working in clinical practice, undertaking the PDP is, in effect, the first year of their CPD, and, if undertaken conscientiously with support from their employer, will usually meet their RCVS CPD obligations for this period. PDP graduates also receive a substantial discount on RCVS Library membership and services, providing them with access to a wide range of information resources, including online access to journals.

For employers, the PDP system provides a ready-made structure for staff appraisal, and could be a useful adjunct to CVs when recruiting new staff in the future. There is also some evidence to show that new graduates tend to stay longer in jobs where employers are supportive of their development. Through promoting PDP in their practice, employers will be promoting good employment practice and therefore be in a better position to attract good applicants to any vacant posts. They will also be able to show that they take the CPD of their staff seriously, as required by the Practice Standards Scheme.  

RCVS Education Department

T 020 7202 0702 or 020 7202 0791

E [email protected]