Accreditation & CPD

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) helps clinicians to maintain and improve their performance. It is a continuing process, outside formal undergraduate and postgraduate training, that enables individuals to maintain and improve standards of clinical practice.  
Our CPD and Accreditation scheme underpins CPD in clinical leadership and management by accrediting activities that should be appropriately recognised as part of the individual’s CPD.

 

For providers

FMLM is an accrediting body for UK based education and training programmes that meet the FMLM Leadership and management standards for medical professionals.

Accreditation provides FMLM members, doctors, dentists, healthcare professionals and healthcare organisations with assurance that a programme has been independently assessed and judged as meeting these important national standards.

Accredit your programmes with FMLM

Accreditation through FMLM will offer providers with several benefits, including:

  • Quality assurance and recognition that the programme meets national standards for medical/clinical leadership and management.
  • Use of the FMLM accreditation marque ‘Accredited by the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management’ for marketing and course materials for a period of three years.
  • CPD credits against teaching content.
  • Listing on the FMLM website as an accredited programme and accessible to FMLM members, doctors and healthcare professionals and healthcare organisations.
  • One free promotional article in FMLM’s regular e-newsletter, signposting the programme to 10,000+ subscribers.
  • Exclusive 20% discount on additional advertising packages aimed at our highly engaged audience.

FMLM accredits a range of UK based leadership and management programmes available to clinicians and dentists at all levels, including:

  • Conferences and events
  • Short and long-term courses
  • Academic, award-bearing programmes (eg undergraduate medical school curricula and postgraduate certificates).

FMLM will consider applications with a range of delivery formats including face-to-face, via blended learning or distance learning. Please note that FMLM do not accredit clinical delivery programmes.

FMLM also accredit undergraduate medical programmes where the Medical leadership and management indicative undergraduate curriculum has been embedded within a programme. Medical Schools can find out more about curriculum accreditation further down this page.

Accreditation can be attained for three years once the programme meets the requisite criteria and standards. An annual assessment will be undertaken to ensure the programme continues to meet these criteria and standards. Accreditation status will be assessed on a case-by-case basis and for some instances programmes may be offered limited or conditional accreditation.

Fees & application process

Please contact enquiries@fmlm.ac.uk for full details on fees and how to apply. 

For full application guidance and terms and conditions, please download a copy of the FMLM CPD and Accreditation Policy available on this page.

Applications are reviewed by an assessment panel constituted of independent experts from education, academia, healthcare and CPD providers. The assessment panel meets four times a year.

 

Transform leadership and management provision through FMLM support for medical schools

Good clinical leadership at all levels has been demonstrated to correlate with high quality patient care. Supporting the clinical students of today to become responsible, and effective leaders of tomorrow is a global priority.

The FMLM Medical Leadership and Management Indicative Undergraduate Curriculum aims to prepare today’s undergraduates with the skills needed to lead, and follow, effectively within a clinical setting. Covering themes such as self-awareness, acting with integrity, working effectively with others, managing resources, and improving services, each of the curriculum competencies has been mapped to the General Medical Council's (GMC’s) Outcomes for Graduates.

FMLM membership, improved access to leadership and management opportunities early in the medical career, and the framework of an effective curriculum is being made available by FMLM to those medical schools who wish to invest in this vital component of their students' education.

Medical schools can apply to have their undergraduate medical programmes accredited where the Medical Leadership and Management indicative undergraduate curriculum has been embedded within a programme.

Benefits of FMLM Accreditation to medical schools:
  • As an external quality assurance that the undergraduate degree meets nationally recognised standards for leadership development
  • Strengthening the medical school's offer to prospective students
  • Public acknowledgement on the FMLM website, accessible to prospective students, healthcare professionals and healthcare organisations
  • Ability to use the FMLM accreditation marque for marketing and course materials
  • Supporting your GMC quality assurance submission in meeting leadership outcomes for graduates 
The Medical Schools in the following universities are Accredited by FMLM:  
  • University of Cambridge
  • University of Dundee
  • University of Leeds
  • University of Plymouth
  • University of Warwick
Applicant guidance

Please email enquiries@fmlm.ac.uk for further information and to arrange a meeting to discuss next steps.

Guidance for medical professionals

Continuing Professional Development (CPD) helps clinician to maintain and improve their performance. It is a continuing process, outside formal undergraduate and postgraduate training, that enables individual doctors to maintain and improve standards of medical practice. As part of the annual appraisal and revalidation process, all doctors who have a licence to practise will be required to provide documentation that they are participating in CPD in order to keep up to date and fit to practise.

FMLM is responsible for the quality assurance and awarding of CPD credits to learning activities in clinical leadership and management that meet the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges’ guidance for CPD. Doctors are responsible for identifying and planning their individual CPD activity and should take into account the full scope of practice in which they work. These should be considered and agreed with the doctors’ appraiser as part of their personal development plan. The CPD credits will be mapped to the FMLM Leadership and Management Standards for Medical Professionals (3rd Edition) four domains (self, team, organisation, system) to help understand the doctors’ current and future professional development requirements.

FAQs

What is CPD in Medical Leadership and Management?

FMLM has developed the scheme that underpins CPD in medical leadership and management by accrediting activities that should be appropriately recognised as part of the individual’s CPD. This will be achieved by the award of FMLM CPD credits that acknowledge the development of the skills, competencies and behaviours required for leadership and management.

What activities are suitable for CPD credits?

A wide range of activities are suitable for CPD credits and can be varied across your scope of practice. They are divided into:

  1. Local (internal activities within employing organisations)
  2. National/Regional (awarded formal CPD credits)
  3. Personal – Educational activities not formally awarded CPD credits but determined to be a useful development activity
What are the minimum requirements?

The proportion of credits attributable to leadership and management should reflect the balance of work performed in these roles. Doctors with clinical responsibility are expected to fulfil CPD that reflects the proportion of clinical and leadership responsibilities they undertake. A clinician in a full-time leadership role would be expected to achieve the minimum of 50 CPD credits every year. You should have a balance of activities between the categories outlined below and the educational activity must be accompanied by reflection on the learning event to consider your learning, impact it will have on your work and further learning needs.

  • Local - 20 credits
  • National/International - 20 credits
  • Personal - 10 credits

A single long-term study programme cannot, however, account for more than 25 credits out of the total minimum CPD requirements. Clinicians with ongoing clinical commitments should have these represented as a proportion of CPD achieved across their scope of practice.

The balance between categories outlined above are minimum recommendations, although there is scope for variation should the educational value of the activities meet the personal development plan of the doctor. Clinicians in leadership roles are expected to attend ‘Leaders in Healthcare’ conference at least once every 5 years.

What if the activity does not have formal CPD credits?

Not all activities will attract formal CPD credits, but you may still deem them a valuable development activity. In this case you can assign ‘personal’ credits where 1 CPD point is the equivalent of one hour of educational activity that may reinforce existing good practice or provide new knowledge. Individuals have responsibility to record CPD that has educational value and aligns to the areas of development according to the FMLM leadership and management standards. This must be accompanied by recorded personal reflection. 

How do I record my CPD credits?

CPD activities can be recorded with digital CPD diaries provided by royal colleges or third-party providers. The log should include details of the activity (including the CPD reference code), evidence of participation (desirable) and personal reflection.