ARCP - Online data tool user guide
last updated July 2016
Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................................. 1
Reports on ARCP outcomes......................................................................................................................... 2
Main menu for ARCP Outcomes by postgraduate training bodies ............................................................. 2
Main menu for ARCP Outcomes by medical school .................................................................................... 3
Understanding the reports .......................................................................................................................... 3
Overview of dashboards by postgraduate training bodies ......................................................................... 3
ARCP Outcomes by Deanery/LETB and specialty ........................................................................................ 3
Programme specialty by deanery ................................................................................................................ 6
ARCP Outcome proportions ........................................................................................................................ 7
Reasons for unsatisfactory ARCP outcomes and Reasons for no ARCP outcome....................................... 7
Demographic reports .................................................................................................................................. 8
How to interpret the charts ........................................................................................................................ 9
How to use the charts to identify and investigate variation ....................................................................... 9
Further information ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Introduction
Deaneries and local education and training boards (LETBs) review the progress of all
doctors in training — including GP, core and (from 2013) foundation — on at least
an annual basis, and award them with either an Annual Review of Competence
Progression (ARCP) or Record of In-Training Assessment (RITA) outcome
(depending on when they started their training).
This guide is intended to help you quickly understand how to use the online data
tool to explore the ARCP/RITA data and find what you need.
1
Reports on ARCP outcomes
ARCP progression reports are presented in two reports; one by the doctors medical
school or primary medical qualification awarding body. The second by the postgraduate
organisation responsible for their training and the doctors demographic characteristics.
Main menu for ARCP Outcomes by postgraduate training
bodies
2
Main menu for ARCP Outcomes by medical school
Understanding the reports
From the main menu you can link to a page called ‘Understanding the reports’.
This page provides basic information you may need to refer to when viewing the reports
including a link to the user guide.
You can return to this page easily should you need to via the ‘Click to return’ button
in the bottom left hand corner of the main reporting page (see below).
Overview of dashboards by postgraduate training bodies
ARCP Outcomes by Deanery/LETB and specialty
This report allows users to compare the rate of unsatisfactory ARCP outcomes awarded
in each training specialty for the selected cohort. The benchmark group used in this
report is for all doctors with an ARCP outcome within the specialty group ie all ACCS
themed training programmes or all medicine programmes.
Users can filter for a specific ARCP outcome, reporting period, Deanery/LETB or
Foundation School, the world region in which the doctors gained their medical degree
(UK, EEA or International – excluding EEA).
Users can filter to just see certain specialty groups presented.
3
For ARCP outcomes from Obstetrics and gynaecology and Paediatrics training
programmes, users may filter outcomes awarded to doctors at different levels within the
programme, eg advanced, intermediate or basic level O&G training.
Detailed description of the filters:
Outcome type

Unsatisfactory outcomes: ARCP outcomes 2, 3, 4, 7.2 and 7.3, and RITA D or E

Unsatisfactory outcomes (excluding cases of exam failure): All unsatisfactory
outcomes listed above, except in cases where the reason for the unsatisfactory
outcome was single or multiple exam failure

Outcome 5s: Outcome 5 and 7.4
Outcome 4s:

Outcomes 2 and D: ARCP outcomes 2 and 7.2, or RITA D – targeted training

Outcomes 3 and E: ARCP outcomes 3 and 7.3, or RITA E – additional training
time.
Please note that as outcomes 2 and D are not applicable to foundation trainees,
selecting this report type will not yield any results for foundation schools.
Reporting year
You can select a particular reporting year, or combination of years.
The years displayed correspond to the date at which the reporting period ended. For
4
example, ‘2013’ corresponds to the reporting period running from the 1 August 2012 to
the 6 August 2013.
The exact dates for all reporting periods are shown on the ‘Understanding the
reports’ page.
Please note that data for foundation trainees are only available for the 2013
reporting period, so no additional data will be shown even if additional reporting
years are selected.
Deanery or foundation school
Since the introduction of LETBs in England and the reorganisation of regional
boundaries, we have updated the reports to show the current name of the LETB where
it directly replaced a previous Deanery. For example Health Education East Midlands has
replaced the East Midlands Deanery.
Where there has not been a direct replacement we report by both theold and the new
body. Eg London Deanery (2013 and earlier) and Health Education South London from
2014.
Select PMQ world region
You can choose to see the outcomes of trainees by the region where they received
their Primary Medical Qualification.
The options under Primary Medical Qualification are all distinct, so UK medical
graduates are not also included in the world region of EEA (European Economic
Area).
5
Programme specialty by deanery
This report allows users to compare the proportion of unsatisfactory ARCP outcomes
awarded by different deaneries / LETBs for a chosen specialty and range of ARCP
outcomes against a benchmark.
The benchmark group used in this chart is ARCP outcomes for all doctors in the
specialty selected. e.g. ACCS – Acute Medicine, or Cardiology.
6
ARCP Outcome proportions
To see a breakdown of the proportion of each ARCP outcome awarded. The report
can be filtered to show a single or multiple Deanery, LETB or Foundation Schools,
Specialty groups or training specialties amongst other things.
Reasons for unsatisfactory ARCP outcomes and Reasons
for no ARCP outcome
Users can see the reasons recorded for unsatisfactory outcomes being awarded or
for no ARCP being awarded. The reason codes refer to the Gold Guide and
Foundation Programme reference guide.
7
Demographic reports
A range of UK wide reports by specialty group (eg Medicine – higher only) showing the
proportion of unsatisfactory ARCP outcomes by the doctors demographic characteristics.
Users can report by:
Age group and gender
PMQ World Region and Ethnicity
Training pattern (Less than Full Time) and gender
Deprivation Quintile – a measure of socioeconomic status based on the doctors
postcode at the time of applying to medical school
8
How to interpret the charts
The purple dot shows the mean percentage of unsatisfactory outcomes in core
surgical training.
The 95% confidence interval is shown by the horizontal purple bar. The
confidence interval means that if we continued to sample core surgical training
ARCP outcomes over time, there is a 95% chance that the proportion of
unsatisfactory outcomes would fall somewhere on this line.
The vertical purple line and shading give the mean and confidence interval for all
core surgical training outcomes across the UK.
How to use the charts to identify and investigate variation
The ARCP progression reports show variation in the proportion of unsatisfactory
ARCP outcomes awarded by a selected Deanery, LETB or Foundation School and
within a selected specialty or specialty group.
The reports are intended to help training organisations to identify where variation
exists and to investigate the underlying cause.
There will be many factors influencing the proportion of unsatisfactory ARCP
outcomes awarded which will cover the local training environment and quality of
training as well as the individual capability or doctors in training and their
engagement with the ARCP process.
The progression reports do not infer judgement about why a LETB might award a
greater proportion of unsatisfactory ARCP outcomes. We would expect the LETB to
investigate the variation to understand the cause and identify any improvements
which may need to be implemented to improve the quality of training.
Further information
Further information about ARCP/RITA data, why it is collected and the role it plays,
more detailed information on types of outcomes, and other related information is
provided in the full guide (pdf).
9