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One of the most common questions doctors ask when preparing for their medical appraisal is whether they must use the GMC's own questionnaires for patient and colleague feedback. The short answer is no and this blog explains exactly why, what your options are, and what the GMC actually requires when it comes to gathering feedback as part of your revalidation cycle.

This Blog clears the myth that you have to use the GMC questionnaire only for patient and colleague feedback as part of your doctor appraisal.

From: RCGP-Revalidation-Mythbusters-2016.pdf

The GMC questionnaires provide the template on which many appropriate patient and colleague feedback tools are now based. There is no GMC requirement to use the GMC questionnaires. They are not suitable for all patient / client groups, or accessible to all, and there may be better tools for your circumstances, whether they relate to a very specific scope of work, or a hard to reach group. The GMC has provided guidance on developing, commissioning and administering patient and colleague questionnaires as part of revalidation.

You do not need to use any tool in particular, but you should choose one that is appropriate to your patient population and is accessible to all the different types of patient across your scope of work as far as possible. You should include feedback from at least the minimum number of patients required by the tool you choose to use. The feedback should be gathered in such a way that the patients are entirely clear that their responses will be anonymous. For example, you must not collect the responses yourself in such a way that patients think you might be able to read them, or choose only the best. One option is for them to be collected into a sealed box that is opened by someone else who passes them on to someone outside your own practice, such as the questionnaire provider, to collate. The results should be externally collated into a report that gives you the feedback you need so that you can reflect on the results in preparation for your appraisal.

If you are unsure about which feedback tool is most appropriate for your scope of work or how to present your feedback results at appraisal, booking an advisory call can provide you with clear, personalised guidance.

The most sophisticated tools provide a chance for you to provide your self-reflection about your performance against the same questions, and some indication about how the feedback you get compares with benchmark data for doctors in your sector and area. However, as new tools are developed, this is not always possible in the early stages as there have not been enough responses to create meaningful benchmarks to calibrate your feedback against. You should also be aware that there may be an early adopter bias that makes early benchmarks for new tools unrealistically high.

MEDSU (medsu.org) have a wonderful cloud based appraisal platform that incorporates free patient and colleague 360 degree feedback links, this is simple to use, takes very little time to complete and easy to read with all analysis done by the software itself!

Patient and colleague feedback is a vital component of the revalidation cycle, but the process of gathering it should be tailored to your specific circumstances and patient population. The flexibility offered by the GMC on this matter is designed to ensure that feedback is meaningful, relevant, and truly reflective of your practice. At Medical Appraisals, we can help you navigate the feedback process and ensure your appraisal portfolio is comprehensive and compliant. Get in touch today to find out how we can support you.

For further information on medical appraisals and revalidation, kindly visit our Medical Appraisals & Revalidation page.

Want to learn more? Watch our expert guidance on medical appraisals and revalidation on our YouTube channel.