Prepare a clear account of your work and learning, check the local submission arrangements and bring specific questions. The value comes from the conversation and what happens afterwards.
By the end of this module, you should be able to:
- Prepare an efficient appraisal submission.
- Use the discussion to clarify learning and support needs.
- Review the output without rewriting the conversation retrospectively.
Plan backwards from the meeting
Confirm how much notice the appraiser needs to read your preparation; this is a local arrangement, not a universal date invented by this programme. Leave time to obtain governance information, complete agreed feedback and resolve access issues. If the timetable has become unrealistic, contact the appraisal team early and agree the next step rather than submitting an unexplained empty portfolio.
A practical sequence is to check the arrangements first, review last year’s plan next, map this year’s work, and then select the learning you want to discuss. Keep a short task list with a named owner and date. This avoids spending the final evening formatting a narrative while an important source record or decision remains unavailable.
Review the previous development plan honestly
For each objective, distinguish completed activity, demonstrated learning, application in practice and any later evaluation. A course attended may be a step towards an objective rather than its completion. If an objective became irrelevant or could not proceed, explain why and whether it should be revised, carried forward or closed. Do not simply copy the old plan into a new year.
Consider an objective to improve confidence in a procedure. Attendance at teaching may have occurred, but opportunities for supervised practice may have been limited. A useful review identifies what was learned, what remains untested, and what access or supervision is required. It does not describe the doctor as competent because a booking was made or an attendance certificate was issued.
Bring questions that support reflection
GMC: supporting information and declarations ↗
UK · Relevant requirements and explanatory sections · Substantive check: 2026-09-09. Reviewed for the specific appraisal teaching; not certification of every linked statement.
Choose a small number of topics with a clear reason for discussion: a successful change to understand, a difficulty that persists, feedback that challenged your assumptions, or a new responsibility that requires preparation. Give enough context to make the issue understandable, while protecting confidentiality. Distinguish the facts, your interpretation and the question you want to explore.
A weak agenda item says “leadership”. A stronger one asks how to assess whether a change you introduced has helped colleagues and patients. The appraiser can help examine the evidence and the next learning step. They cannot automatically grant a job-plan change, investigate a complaint or guarantee a training opportunity; those actions may need separate people and processes.
Agree conditions for an open conversation
Discuss the practical conditions: sufficient time, privacy, accessibility needs, conflicts of interest and any concerns about the appraiser relationship. Ask the appraisal team about an alternative appraiser if there is a significant conflict. Explain what support would enable participation without assuming that you must disclose every detail of a personal health history to everyone involved.
Confidentiality should be explained, including the limits arising from professional and safety duties. If a serious concern emerges, clarify the next steps, what will be shared and with whom. A developmental conversation should be respectful, but it is not a promise that relevant risks will remain undisclosed. Urgent patient-safety matters should already be using the appropriate reporting route.
Read the output before agreeing it
Check that the appraisal summary reflects the discussion, covers your actual scope and distinguishes agreed actions from observations. Review the development objectives, responsibilities and timescales. If an important point is inaccurate or omitted, request a transparent correction through the approved process. Keep the audit trail; do not privately replace an official output with a more favourable account.
Where there is disagreement, specify the point and the evidence rather than treating the whole meeting as invalid. For example, an action to seek protected learning time should not become a statement that the time has already been granted. A factual clarification may solve the problem. If it does not, follow the local appraisal review route and retain an accurate record of the unresolved issue.
Turn the output into work over the year
Move agreed actions into a manageable review calendar. Separate things you can start from things awaiting organisational support. Decide what evidence of progress will be useful and when you will review it. The aim is to make the next appraisal a review of work that happened, not a reconstruction of good intentions.
The preparation checklist here can identify unfinished tasks, but its count is not a pass mark. An unticked item may be minor or fundamental depending on the circumstances. Read the item, resolve its meaning and agree a plan. If a formal deadline or adverse recommendation is involved, use the responsible-officer and professional-advice routes rather than waiting for the annual cycle.
Eight areas to review
Tick an area after checking it, rather than merely locating a document. This is a planning aid, not a pass/fail assessment.
0 of 8 areas reviewed. Review the unticked areas and agree any action needed.
Checks are held in this page only. Completion is not confirmation that a portfolio is sufficient.
What would make your next appraisal conversation useful beyond completing an administrative requirement?
Three takeaways
- 1Prepare around learning and decisions.
- 2Check the accuracy of the agreed output.
- 3Put follow-up into the working year.
Check your understanding
Six questions on Prepare for appraisal and make the conversation productive test process and practical judgement. This is educational: it does not assess your health, evidence sufficiency or decide a legal issue.
Recommended workbooks
Use neutral planning notes and keep completed workbooks on a trusted device. Do not enter identifiable cases or confidential material.
Official and professional guidance
Confirm current GMC requirements and the approved arrangements for your designated body and nation.