Quality assurance framework

The consultation exercise is open until noon on September 30, 2014.

A great deal of time and money is spent on dental CPD, and there has until now not been any consistent way to judge whether a particular course or lecture, e learning programme or on-line webinar is value for money, effective and fit for purpose. Dentists and DCPs know that they must do CPD to stay on the GDC Register, but it’s hard to know whether a particular event, conference or correspondence course is worthwhile, or to decide which of many different CPD activities about a particular subject will be the right one for an individual’s needs, and result in them improving their knowledge or practice and ultimately benefitting patients. The proposed Quality Assurance Framework offers a structured approach to assessment of whether appropriate standards have been met.

How do dentists and DCPs know whether the speaker or lecturer is qualified to talk about the subject matter and is up to date? If the course teaches current evidence based practice? Whether current GDC requirements are met? How they can contact someone to ask follow up questions? How can they be assured that they will be getting unbiased advice about a range of options, or promotion for a particular company or product? That the course has new material and won’t be a repeat of one they went to a few years ago?