CPD end-of-cycle approaching for 6,000 dentists
NewsPosted by: Dental Design 20th December 2018
GDC advises only eight working days for those planning to make grace period application
On 31 December this year, almost 6,000 dentists are due to complete their five-year CPD cycle and will need to submit their end-of-cycle CPD statement to the General Dental Council (GDC) no later than 28 January 2019. However, the regulator has today advised that dentists planning to make an application for a ‘grace period’ only have eight working days to do so.
As part of the Enhanced CPD scheme, dental professionals who have failed to complete enough CPD within their cycle, due to exceptional circumstances, can apply for a short grace period. Any application for a grace periods, though, must be submitted before the end of the CPD cycle, which falls on 31 December for dentists. The GDC says the easiest way to make the statement and submit a grace period application is via the regulator’s online portal, eGDC.
In addition to dentists coming to the end of their cycle this year, since the introduction of Enhanced CPD in January 2018, all dentists must now make an annual CPD statement. Annual CPD statements are also due by 28 January 2019.
GDC Executive Director, Registration and Corporate Resources, Gurvinder Soomal, said: “While end-of-cycle and annual CPD statements don’t need to be made until 28 January 2019, we encourage dentists not to leave it until the last minute. Statements can be made now and the eGDC portal really is the easiest way to do it. It is extremely important to ensure CPD statements are completed on time or registration and the ability to practise dentistry in the UK could be put at risk.”
For anyone unsure of what they need to do, especially with regards to Enhanced CPD, clear guidelines have been produced and are available on the GDC’s website. The eGDC portal also includes a personal calculation, which illustrates specific requirements for dentists transitioning from the old CPD scheme to Enhanced CPD.
