In 2015, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) agreed that the term GPwSI should be replaced by the term GP with Extended Role (GPwER). Accreditation is now underpinned by a national process administered by the BAD.

The Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) has published Guidance and competences to support the accreditation of GPs with Extended Roles (GPwERs) in Dermatology (including Skin Surgery) 2024 in collaboration with the British Association of Dermatologists and the Primary Care Dermatology Society (PCDS).

Terms & Conditions

We welcome applications from GPs in all four UK nations. To apply, please download and complete the relevant portfolio of evidence forms and supporting documents outlined below, and email to gpwer@bad.org.uk. We will confirm receipt of your application and take your payment.

To avoid unnecessary delays, please ensure you have read all the information and completed and checked your documents before sending.

Fees

The accreditation fee is £900 per candidate or £450 per candidate for those with prior GPwER accreditation and applying to move from group 1 (or 2) to group 3. These fees include one free resubmission.

• If you apply for any single group: 1, 2, or 3, the fee is £900 per group, per application
• If you have completed group 1 (or 2) and later apply for group 3, the fee is £900 for group 1 (or 2) and then £450 for group 3, however you will need to provide evidence that you have been accredited for group 1 (or 2)

The fee for an appeal is £275. Please refer to the Terms and Conditions for details.

Payment is accepted via BACS or credit card, please email gpwer@bad.org.uk for more information.

Fees will be reviewed annually

Our process and timescales

The process for GPwER accreditation is shown below. On average, the process can take about four months from submission to accreditation, if you are not required to submit further evidence.

GPwER Submission Process

1. Portfolio submission
2. Payment
3. Portfolio checked for completeness
4. Portfolio assigned to two assessors
5. Assessors approve or request further evidence
6. Final sign-off by Co-chair or moderator
7. Inform candidate of outcome

In addition to the specialty criteria candidates must meet the following requirements:

• Provide evidence of Certificate of Completion of Training (CCT) or equivalent in general practice
• Be actively working in General Practice and be registered on a performers list (or equivalent)
• Undertake an annual medical (whole scope of practice) appraisal
• Provide evidence of GMC registration
• Have undertaken at least 40 core (undifferentiated) general practice sessions in the 12 months prior to application (please contact the team if you wish to apply for accreditation but are unable to meet this requirement)

Please also refer to the Terms and Conditions.

There are three separate groups of new GPwER applicants, as well as doctors previously accredited as GPwSIs under the Department of Health’s 2007/2011 guidelines. Depending on which group you are in, you may be required to complete different forms and submit different evidence as part of your portfolio. The groups are as follows:

Group 1: GPwER in General Dermatology (the diagnosis and management of inflammatory skin disease, the diagnosis of skin lesions, and the non-surgical management of pre-cancerous lesions and low-risk basal cell carcinoma).

Group 2: Skin lesion management (the diagnosis and management of skin lesions, including low-risk BCC, using both surgical and non-surgical techniques).

Group 3: Combines groups 1 and 2.

Extension Portfolio: To extend from group 1 or group 2 to group 3, see the requirements below.

Transition/GPwSI Portfolio: To gain GPwER accreditation, using your previous GPwSI accreditation, see the requirements below.

The GPwER forms have been updated to improve clarity for candidates. The competencies remain unchanged.

New GPwER candidates should submit their evidence using the updated forms, listed below.

Existing candidates who have already downloaded and commenced evidence collection on the previous version forms may submit their evidence on the old forms until 30 September 2025.

Please note, different groups are required to complete different forms as part of the application process, make sure that you have downloaded the forms under the heading that corresponds to your group.

If a candidate submits a combination of old and new forms, we will ask them to resubmit using only one version.

If you have used a mix of old and new forms and need an old version form, please email education@bad.org.uk stating which form you need and we will send it to you.

1. Take your time to read through the guidance on each form so you are clear about what is expected.
2. When submitting your evidence, do not combine several forms into one scan, please attach the separate forms to your submission email.
3. Each form needs to be clearly labelled using the form name or number in the filename; this will assist the assessors in reviewing your evidence.
4. Check that all forms which require a signature have been signed; it’s acceptable to type a name if the form is sent from an NHS email account.
5. Forms 1, 2, 3a and 3b – each clinical supervisor must add their signature to the table at the top of these forms and sign and date each subject they have assessed; clinical supervisors must also sign the declaration at the end of each form. Candidates must include the list of dates they have seen each subject.
6. All candidates, with the exception of transition candidates, must complete form 3a.
7. Form 4, learning diary – groups 1 and 2 must complete eight cases each, bringing the total for group 3 to 16 cases.
8. Form 6, audit –includes guidance for those managing BCCs and those not managing BCCs.
9. Portfolio of evidence form question 6 on integrated care requires specific information about how you work with secondary care.
10. Portfolio of evidence form question 12 on Personal development plan (PDP) requires you to be specific: provide four or five named courses, or learning events, with dates. Outline how you propose to keep up to date in your dermatology / surgical skills, including your specialty specific personal development plans for the forthcoming appraisal year.
11. Form 7 – the senior clinical supervisor must justify the scoring for all domains and tick the box for the GPwER group you are applying for.