What Is A Personal Development Plan (PDP)
According to the Health Education of England-NHS a PDP is (as the name suggests)
a) Personal
It is specific to each individual dentist. It will only apply to you and can’t be copied from anyone else. It will be formulated by you
and relate to your individual educational needs.
b) Development
It should assist in addressing your learning requirements. These can be identified via a variety of methods which include:
Self-awareness – by doing something like a SWOT analysis (more about this later)
Patients unmet needs – knowing that there are some treatment issues that are not being fully dealt with
Clinical audit – either single or collaborative, the results of which can pinpoint areas for clinical, professional or managerial development
Appraisal – self-appraisal or with a dental colleague or with other dental staff in the practice (360° appraisal)
Significant event analysis – assessing why something went wrong, or right. Looking at individual or practice complaints.
GDC core subjects – a new recommended course was added to the GDC list last year, and there are signs that this list will be increased in the future.
c) Plan
This is a written down, considered strategy which should have a recorded timeframe be it short or long. But remember that this timeframe must be realistic. Don’t give yourself a short target which won’t, or can’t be achievable.
The PDP is a snapshot at the particular time when it is compiled. It is a dynamic process and will need updating at regular intervals. It may be advisable to review it on an annual basis, but if at an intermediate stage another learning opportunity or requirement is identified it may have to be revised before the initial time frame has ended.
Where to start?
It’s important that you lay down the outlines of your PDP before starting and to highlight what are your goals and how do you plan to achieve as a dental performer applicant , you’d want to include the CPD, a you want to fulfil, skills you want to learn and master and how and when and where you’d be doing them.
How to follow it up?
To assure the success of your PDP you’d essentially want to set realistic goals, including CPD’s that are in your geographical area and start with the basics before jumping to advanced CPD’s or skills that are too early to take on at the beginning of your career .
Not only will this be a great way to prove your knowledge and skills, it will also keep you motivated to succeed, you may also want to include your weak areas in your clinical performance and how do you plan to strengthen them and these are normally based around taking courses or professional qualifications, but may include things such as workshops, independent study, networking, on-the-job training, joining a club/support group, or something more directly linked to your current job or the company you work for.
What are the benefits?
Not only this is an NHS condition to gain your full performer number but also this is useful tool for you , From helping to plan a career change and build on your current skills, to being the push you need to learn something new and quantify your abilities, a PDP is a logical way of accomplishing a range of different objectives.
Here are Some of the recommended links you can use to help you create your PDP
• https://agiliosoftware.com/news/personal-development-plan/
Sources
- https://info.lse.ac.uk/staff/divisions/Human-Resources/Assets/Documents/OLL/PDP-Guidance-230719.pdf
Author : Dr. Waheed
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