Appraisers have a key role in appraisal and therefore the revalidation process. Effective appraisers contribute to supporting the development and wellbeing of their professional colleagues, and consequently to the quality of the service as a whole.
Primary Care GP Appraisers are employed by the health boards they appraise in.
For the purpose of indemnity, Appraisers in secondary Care are "employed" by the NHS Board in which the appraisals take place. The appraiser will be managerially accountable to the RO via the Appraisal Lead for their appraisal responsibilities.
In Secondary Care, unless agreed with the employing health board, appraisers are expected to undertake circa 6-10 appraisals per year to ensure consistency of process, the maintenance of skills and the cost effectiveness of appraisal training.
Primary Care Appraisers undertake circa 22 appraisals per year.
In order that appraisal is delivered to a uniformly high standard across the country, all appraisers in Scotland are required to attend the national appraiser training scheme provided by NHS Education for Scotland - either via the New Appraiser training for those new to the role, or Refresher Appraiser training for existing appraisers to support their continued development.
It has been agreed by Scottish Government that NES will oversee and provide the training programme for Medical Appraisers in Scotland (for both Primary and Secondary Care).
The training programmes are scheduled and rolled out annually and (since 2020) is carried out remotely via MS Teams.
If you are interested in becoming a Medical Appraiser, please review the section on "Appraiser Training".
In addition to the NES training, appraisers are also expected to attend ongoing national and local training.
This page was last updated on: 19/08/2024
