How Dental Nurses get their GDC Numbers

GDC Role
The purpose of the General Dental Council (GDC) is to protect the public by ensuring all members of the dental team are regulated.

This is achieved by:

Registering qualified professionals;
Setting standards of dental practice and conduct;
Assuring the quality of dental education;
Ensuring professionals keep their skills up-to-date;
Investigating allegations and complaints about dentists or dental care professionals and taking appropriate action;
Working to strengthen patient protection

There are two registers

The Dentists Register

The Dental Care Professionals Register

The standards GDC expect dental professionals to have reached at the end of their education and training for registration are set out in two documents:

The First Five Years Developing
The Dental Team

To stay on GDC Register you will have to complete

Continuing Professional Development
Revalidation
ARF
Scope of Practice Standards for Dental Professionals
Indemnity

Main changes introduced by the Enhanced CPD Scheme

The need to have a personal development plan (PDP).
An increase in the number of verifiable hours for most professional titles, and the requirements to spread the hours across the five-year CPD cycle.
Removal of the need to declare non-verifiable CPD, although you are encouraged to continue to engage with non-verifiable CPD (e.g. reading a journal relevant to your field of practice) if it contributes to your PDP.
The need to make an annual statement of CPD hours completed, even if you have not completed any CPD during the year (i.e., you need to make a zero hours statement).
The need to align CPD activity with a GDC development or learning outcome(s).
The need to plan CPD activity according to your field(s) of practice.

Depending on your registrant title, you must do a certain minimum number of hours of verifiable CPD for each five-year cycle. You may continue to do non-verifiable hours submitted to the GDC must be verifiable. Dental Nurses are currently required to do 50 hours per year.

What You Need to do for the Enhanced CPD Scheme

Recording and submitting your CPD hpurs

It is important that you keep your CPD records up to date and safe.

The introduction of the Enhanced CPD Scheme 2018 means you now need to make a compliant CPD statement every year. Even if you have not completed any CPD hours in any given year, you still need to make your annual CPD statement. In these circumstances, please submit a zero hours, when completing your CPD statement.

The Scheme also requires you to complete and keep a personal development plan (PDP) and an activity log to record the CPD you have completed. These documents should be retained with your other CPD documentation, such as your CPD certificates, for a period of five years following the completion of a CPD cycle.

At the end of your five-year CPD cycle, you will be asked to submit an end of cycle CPD statement. Both annual and end of cycle CPD statements need to be submitted within 28 days of the end of the relevant Annual Renewal period.

GDC Development Outcomes

Effective communication with patients, the dental team and others across dentistry, including when obtaining consent, dealing with complaints, and raising concerns when patients are at risk.
B
Effective management of self and effective management of others or effective work with others in the dental team, in the interests of patients, providing constructive leadership where appropriate.
C
Maintenance and development of knowledge and skill within your field(s) of practice.
Clinical and technical areas of study.
D
Maintenance of skills, behaviors and attitudes which maintain patient confidence in you and the dental profession and put patients’ interests first.

What is your CPD record

Your CPD record should contain:

A personal development plan (PDP) detailing the CPD you plan to undertake, the development outcome(s) you are aiming to meet and the timeframe for completing the CPD. Your PDP should be created at the start of your CPD cycle, and adapted throughout, as your needs change.
An activity log of the CPD you completed, including the date it was undertaken, the number of CPD hours gained from each activity, and any reflections you would like to record about the CPD activity completed.
Evidence (e.g. certificates) that you completed verifiable CPD.
Also be sure to map the development outcomes against all planned and completed CPD activity in your PDP, activity log and evidence (e.g. certificates).

Being removed from GDC Registers

There are various ways in which you can be removed from the Registers which include: