The Role of the Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties in Revalidation

The Chief Medical Officer's 2006 report Good Doctors, Safer Patients and the subsequent 2007 White Paper Trust, Assurance and Safety, represent an opportunity for Colleges and Faculties to offer their expertise in setting standards for the development of revalidation.

The development of standards, methods and evidence for revalidation is supported by the Academy to ensure consistent development and implementation across the different medical specialties this is done:

• In association with their specialist societies. The Colleges and Faculties should continue to set educational, professional and clinical standards for their medical specialty. The purpose of revalidation and medical regulation is not solely to identify doctors whose performance is not of a sufficiently high standard, it is also to encourage good practice and the ongoing development of standards and quality in medical care
• By developing and establishing methods for the demonstration of the practice of an individual practitioner mapped against the specialty standards. Revalidation needs to reflect demonstration of both the doctor's conduct (measure of professional behaviour) and clinical competence

See each of the individual Medical Royal Colleges and Faculties websites for specific information on their work on Revalidation: