Annual Review of Competence Progression (ARCP)

ARCPs are designed to support you and protect patients by determining whether you are competent to progress. The ARCP process has been revised nationally to include revalidation. The annual assessment will consider your training progress and your fitness to practice. 

Your fitness to practice will be considered at every ARCP and not just at your revalidation date; this applies for all levels of training, including foundation training, core training, LATs, GP training and higher specialty training.  ARCPs are necessary to maintain patient safety and ensure that you are generating evidence for your revalidation and to ensure you meet the requirements of your curriculum and training programme.

Evidence is key and must be gathered throughout the training year. You will be required to submit evidence in good time before your ARCP panel, who will review it in line with the specialty curriculum and local guidance. 

ARCP outcomes are considered to be "satisfactory" or "unsatisfactory"; these outcomes are not necessarily an indicator of your recommendation for revalidation.

Further information relating to the ARCP process can be found in Section 4 of The Gold Guide (version 9).

Health Education England reviews the progress of all doctors in training at least once per training year, depending on when the doctor began their training programme.  

This is an evidence based process.  ARCP panels review each trainee's progress by reviewing the evidence submitted by each trainee to their eportfolio, which may include:

• workplace based assessments

• a report from the trainee’s educational supervisor

• 360 feedback

• royal college or faculty professional exam results (this list is not exhaustive). 

The ARCP panel then recommend an ARCP outcome based on a trainee's progress. The panel may meet with the trainee in person or conduct the ARCP in the trainee's absence.

In both cases, the objective is to determine the extent of the trainee’s progress against the competences described in a GMC approved specialty curriculum. 

Please see below for the possible ARCP outcomes that can be recommended.