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Guidance for appraisers

Guidance for appraisers


Completing the Re-Recognition Of Trainer (ROT) section of an appraisee's appraisal on SOAR

When conducting an appraisal you, the appraiser, are evaluating all aspects of professionalism and work of a doctor.  This includes assessing and appraising evidence in several domains including patient safety, professional development, clinical skills, probity, health and clinical competence.  Education (i.e. ROT) is no different but it may be that when you became an appraiser ROT was not part of that process or perhaps you are not a trainer and so may find the ROT part of the appraisal confusing or challenging.

This guidance aims to help you understand the process of becoming a trainer so you can facilitate the appraisal discussion.  If you have further queries please contact your Director of Medical Education (DME) or the RoT Quality Management Team at NES (RoTQM@nes.scot.nhs.uk) or the Programme Lead at the relevant Medical School for Undergraduate Roles.

The appraiser’s role is as a facilitator guiding the trainer/appraisee.

You should review and discuss the evidence submitted for ROT with the appraisee in 3 sections:

  1. Equality and Diversity training
  2. Time in job plan allocated to be a trainer for the listed role(s)
  3. The supporting evidence for the 7 AoME framework areas (see below)

The trainer should collect evidence of development and/or training for each of the 5 or 7 framework areas depending on their trainer role (1,2,3,4 and 7 for clinical supervisor, all 7 for educational supervisor) within a 5 year appraisal cycle with some evidence being reviewed each year in order that all relevant areas are reviewed within the 5 year cycle.

You are then asked, on FORM 4 under the ROT heading, to tick a box confirming that appropriate supporting information has been provided for the roles undertaken.

You are not recommending that the appraisee is re-recognised as a trainer: it is the DME and, where applicable, the University who will do so. Subsequently the NES ROT team also reviews the evidence for each trainer and registers the Recognised trainer.  Continued trainer status recognition is aligned with the doctor’s revalidation date.

DMEs only have access to Form 7 on SOAR i.e. they cannot see what is submitted by an appraisee on Form 1-3, nor 4.  It is therefore important that as an appraiser you ensure the doctor has uploaded their relevant supporting information; and that you document your discussions in the ROT section of Form 4 accordingly.

Form 7 is auto-generated following the appraisal from the information entered by both the doctor and the appraiser in the RoT sections of Form 3 and Form 4 respectively.

More information about the ROT form and the data flow is available on this website.

Please also see guidance for appraises and appraisers which can be used as a checklist which we hope will help you to guide and to appraise the documents submitted in relation to each of the 7 AoME Framework Areas.



This page was last updated on: 07/04/2022