Medical trainees must maintain a portfolio which provides evidence that they have met the competencies required by the curriculum. This is presented as part of the annual review of competence progression (ARCP) which each trainee must pass in order to move up to the next year of training.

 Planning and maintaining a portfolio involves a lot of work and can be a source of anxiety and uncertainty for many trainees. One of the difficulties is that there is no ‘right’ way to demonstrate competence, or to produce the portfolio. Here, the head of a school of psychiatry and the medical education manager from a deanery describe how they use the information presented to them to judge whether or not a trainee is making adequate progress.

This book offers clear and simple guidance to help trainees pass their ARCP. Although there is a focus on psychiatry, it will aid any medical trainee undertaking specialty training and provide a useful reference for trainers and educational supervisors.