Personal Development Plan

Date:
Trainee:
Educational Supervisor:
Area Learning objectives
Clinical knowledge
Clinical skills
Communication
Personal Development Plan
How will these learning
needs be addressed?
Expected date
of completion
How will I know when the learning
objective is achieved?
Actual
Achievement
date

Area Learning objectives
Research
Audit
Teaching
Management and
leadership
How will these learning
needs be addressed?
Expected date
of completion
How will I know when the learning
objective is achieved?
Actual
Achievement
date

Area Learning objectives
Reflective practice
Examinations
Career
How will these learning
needs be addressed?
Expected date
of completion
How will I know when the learning
objective is achieved?
Actual
Achievement
date

Notes on the Personal Development Plan
The Personal Development Plan (PDP) should be completed by the specialty trainee and the educational supervisor at the start of the trainee’s specialty training
(beginning of year ST3). It should be reviewed at every appraisal and updated whenever appropriate, at least annually at the start of each training year. Although
much of the PDP will be completed by the specialty trainee and the educational supervisor, the clinical supervisor will also be involved in setting learning objectives
relevant to their particular specialist tumour site and helping the trainee achieve the learning objectives by, for example, identifying appropriate audit projects and
carrying out workplace based assessments. In order to complete the PDP, the specialty trainee should first reflect on their strengths, weaknesses and educational
needs before setting appropriate learning objectives with their educational supervisor and completing the plan.
Area
The PDP is split into ten areas to provide a structure for discussion at each appraisal meeting. It will not always be necessary to complete learning objectives for each
area. For example, a trainee in year ST3 might not have any objectives relating to ‘Career’. The PDP is longitudinal and should evolve during training.
These ten areas should also be reflected in the Educational Supervisor’s Appraisal Forms. While the PDP summarises the goals, the appraisal monitors their attainment
and thereby stimulates amendment to the PDP (this may be addition of more learning objectives, amendment of a learning objective, or alteration of an expected date
of completion. Uncompleted objectives should not be removed).
The PDP should be reviewed at every appraisal meeting by educational and clinical supervisors
Learning objectives
This heading lists the individual objectives that a trainee will be aiming to achieve over the course of a year. These objectives can be free text agreed between the
trainee and the educational supervisor, or linked to the curriculum, though the latter will apply more to the clinical objectives. Learning objectives should be ‘SMART’
(specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-limited).
How will these learning needs be addressed?
For each objective, the trainee and educational supervisor should indicate how it is expected to be achieved. This might be through private study and passing
examinations, or it might be that a more complex explanation is required. Possible learning methods are listed in the curriculum. This column should be completed as
free text.
Expected date of completion
In setting a learning objective, there should be some indication of when that objective is expected to be achieved. By including this information, trainees can plan their
learning and be motivated to achieve the objective by a certain date.
Evidence of Progress/ Attainment
This section should be used to identify evidence that shows that a particular objective has been achieved. Such evidence includes examination results, workplace based
assessments and reflection.