14 February 2012
The FGDP(UK) is making some changes to its career pathway.
Fellowship at the end of the existing career pathway can be achieved via different and mutually exclusive routes:
either the accumulation of credits from taught programmes
or via evidence of significant experience; either a clinical or a nonclinical Fellowship.
An initiative to be launched in 2012 will bring these various routes together into one new ‘unified’ route, which will be known as the FGDP(UK) Professional Development Pathway. The aim of the new pathway is to better reflect the diverse needs of Faculty members and the rapidly changing landscape of dental practice. It will build on the strengths of the previous system whilst also providing more flexibility for applicants.
The value of taught components will be retained as a highly effective way of accumulating evidence of enhanced skills but alongside this, practitioners will have greater opportunity to provide evidence from experience. The nature of Faculty approval of taught components will change from the current system of credit rating to one of endorsement. That is, recognition of the suitability of a taught programme or qualification as evidence for the Faculty Fellowship. Enhanced skills and DwSI services will also provide suitable evidence for the Fellowship.
As with the current system, applicants will be assessed for Fellowship via a portfolio containing appropriate evidence of their learning and development, and its application in their practice, across a choice of clinical and non-clinical domains including education, research, leadership and management.
From 1 April 2012, new entrants to the pathway will start on the Professional Development Pathway leading to the new Fellowship, rather than the existing career pathway.
The current career pathway will exist alongside the Professional Development Pathway until 31 March 2014. Members who are already on the career pathway will have the choice of either remaining on this until they complete it/ it ceases to exist, or transferring to the new pathway and Fellowship at some point during that time.
For further information, please contact the Accreditation Office on vlukacs@rcseng.ac.uk or 020 7869 6766.