Master and refine the skills required as a Medical Appraiser
Comprehensive Beginners Foundation Course, Mentor Scheme and Refresher Training for all medical practitioners NEW APPRAISERSEXISTING APPRAISERSNew Appraiser Training Courses
New Appraiser Training: Part 1 - Theory
An engaging and comprehensive program for new Appraisers, developed by Appraisers and Responsible Officers.
The emphasis is on practical sessions to meet the needs of those training as new Appraisers and ensuring that you are skilled in accordance with legislative requirements.
New Appraiser Training Objectives:
- Have acquired detailed knowledge of how to conduct an Appraisal
- Know what is required of you as an Appraiser in terms of professionalism and documentation
- Understand and be able to recognize when an appraisee has provided sufficient supporting information for their Appraisal
- Have the appropriate communication, coaching skills and techniques to facilitate reflective practice
- Understand the more common difficulties that can arise in the Appraisal and have an idea of how to handle these.
- Have an approach to facilitating good PDP goals
- Know how to sign off an Appraisal correctly
One Day: 9:30 – 16.30
3 hours pre-course study
CPD Points: 9
Suitable for: All doctors, nurses and AHPs wishing to train as an Appraiser, any grade and any specialty
Delegate Fee: £249.00
Also available as an in-house course/group booking. Please contact [email protected] to discuss your requirements.
“Really well organised programme.
Very experienced Appraiser Trainer who clearly knew what he was speaking about.”
“Well operated. Good materials of value. Excellent mix of tools and attendees. Well worth attending and recommend to anyone interested in appraisal role.”
“The course was comprehensive, highly informative and gave knowledge, skills and confidence. The most useful aspect was the exercise as it allowed me to apply the knowledge with immediate feedback.”
New Appraiser Training: Part 2 - Putting Theory into Practise Mentor Programme
This practical online training enables newly trained Appraisers to build confidence in their knowledge by putting their new skills and understanding into practice in real Appraisal meetings with the support of an experienced Medical Appraiser Mentor.
The MEDSU Appraiser Training Mentor Programme has been developed to cover the key components of being a successful appraiser:
- to enable you to build confidence in your ability and understanding of the appraisal meeting process
- to help develop and implement your newly acquired skills leading the appraisal discussion
- to become a good mentor and guide throughout the appraisal meeting
On Request:
This is an on-demand online course which includes preparatory work, review of materials, liaison with your Mentor and two observational Appraisals.
CPD Points: 7
Suitable for: All doctors who have undertaken the Part 1 Theory training or other external Appraiser Training course and are interested in gaining more experience and confidence in a real Appraiser-Appraisee environment.
Delegate Fee: £250.00
Appraiser Refresher & Update Training Courses
Medical Appraisers: Refresher Training
An insightful full day webinar and valuable refresher training course, facilitated by a highly experienced Lead Appraiser.
This Appraiser Update course focuses on real-life scenarios and includes practical interactive sessions, to ensure that Medical Appraisers remain up-to-date with current and new legislative requirements in support of Appraisal and Revalidation, including:
- What’s New and What’s Not in the World of Appraisal and Revalidation
- Reflection and Reflective Practice
- Topical issues
- Difficult Appraisals: dealing with, communication skills
- Group Exercises: Including Appraisal Summary, ASPAT Reviews and Case Based Scenarios
One Day: 9:30 – 16.30
CPD Points: 7
Suitable for: All existing Medical Appraisers seeking to stay up to date with current practices.
Delegate Fee: £249.00
Also available as an in-house course/group booking. Please contact [email protected] to discuss your requirements.
“Extremely informative sessions. Developed much better insight in appraising doctors and how to improve our interaction. Especially useful sessions interactive sessions when undertaking complex appraisals. Also very useful were updated GMC guidelines especially during the Pandemic.”
“Informative Course, Approachable presenters, Useful course material given with ample time to study.”
“Detailed, thorough, with a great balance of didactic and interactive.”
“An excellent concise course that was very well presented and provided all the information I need to be an effective appraiser.”
“The presenters know their subject and share their knowledge well.”
Medical Appraisers: FREE Quarterly Update Webinars
FREE Peer support and professional development webinars suitable for all Medical Appraisers. Facilitated by an experienced Lead Appraiser/RO.
All Medical Appraisers, regardless of experience, need regular peer support and continuing professional development to ensure the quality and standards of medical appraisals for all doctors.
Our live online quarterly training sessions are easily accessible for Appraisers working anywhere in the UK and globally.
These webinars provide a unique opportunity to update your knowledge, share your experiences, review NHSE guidance and discuss information provided at recent Regional RO Network Meetings.
Your facilitator Dr O’Kelly, will provide knowledge-based learning of issues experienced by other Appraisers to support the continuation of best practices and quality assurance across the sector.
One Hour: 20:15 – 21:15 – Quarterly
CPD Points: 1
Suitable for: All newly trained and experienced Medical Appraisers working within any healthcare organization.
Delegate Fee: N/A
“They are great; good time of day and the length is just right.
They update us on recent updates via GMC/RO. I have been able to feed this back into my NHS Team as we do not get this information locally.”
“Very helpful to my work as an appraiser. The talks provided gave very useful and practical information about mentoring and effective communication that will certainly help me in my work and will hopefully lead to me being a better appraiser. I value these meetings very much.”
“An amazing way to stay informed professionally!
It is a useful and effective way of meeting up without the need for travelling.
I am pleased that there is always good learning content of practical value.”
Choose MEDSU for courses taught with years of experience and knowledge, not with textbooks

Course Director - Dr Frank O'Kelly
Dr O’Kelly became involved with Medical Appraisals as an appraiser in 2011, working for various appraisal providers. He joined MEDSU as a Medical Appraiser and was promoted to Lead Appraiser in late 2015, a Responsible Officer in 2016 and Director of Appraisals, Clinical Governance and Professional Development in 2018. Dr O’Kelly manages the MEDSU Appraiser team; ensuring all our MEDSU panel appraisers are supported and kept updated throughout the year.
Dr O’Kelly graduated from University College Galway Ireland in 1989 where he trained in General Surgery. He started practicing in the UK in 2000 as a Medico-Legal Consultant and briefly as a Clinical Assistant at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. He then worked in Health Assessments as Assistant Medical Director and became Medical Director for the Health Screening Department at The Evelyn Hospital in Cambridge. At the same time, he started practicing with BUPA in London and Nuffield Proactive Health and was promoted to Regional Medical Director for East and London and Clinical Lead at Allen and Overy in London.
Dr O’Kelly became a partner at Cambridge Migration Medical Services, practicing as a Health Assessment doctor for Australia and New Zealand Immigration Services. He has also worked as a Health Assessment doctor for various insurance providers since 1993.
As an RO, he manages the ongoing requirements of Clinical Governance for doctors attached to various Designated Bodies and works closely with the excellent support team at MEDSU and the MD to constantly improve the services and support we provide to our doctors, nurses and HCPC Professionals.

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