UK Medical Appraisals
Independent, GMC-Compliant Medical Appraisals for UK and International Doctors
Fast, supportive, and fully accredited — with no hidden fees. Providing free support and REV12 completion, if you don't have a Designated Body.
Appraisal Fees from £350
1. What can I expect from a Medical Appraisal with UKMA?
You will receive expert guidance and support with your Appraisal preparation.
Your appraisal will be a formal, but relaxed, friendly and supportive meeting, with one of the most experienced Medical Appraisers in the UK. It will be via video link and will last about 1 hour.
Your appraiser will create an environment in which you will feel able to ask questions about the appraisal process and about any concerns you have.
During the meeting, your Appraiser will facilitate discussions and your reflections on the supporting evidence you have provided for your Appraisal. These discussions and reflections will be used to formulate your Personal Development Plan for the subsequent 12 months [your Appraiser will guide you on this].
Following your Appraisal, your Appraiser will complete [finalise] the Appraisal form and complete all sections of the REV12 form. They will then email these completed documents to you, during the 48 hours following your Appraisal.
You then upload these to your online GMC account. Within 14 days, the GMC will then email your Appraiser, to ask them to confirm that they met with you for your Appraisal and that they completed the Appraisal forms. Your Appraiser will confirm this within a few hours and your Appraisal process will then be complete.
Contact UKMA for more information
Your appraisal will be a formal, but relaxed, friendly and supportive meeting, with one of the most experienced Medical Appraisers in the UK. It will be via video link and will last about 1 hour.
Your appraiser will create an environment in which you will feel able to ask questions about the appraisal process and about any concerns you have.
During the meeting, your Appraiser will facilitate discussions and your reflections on the supporting evidence you have provided for your Appraisal. These discussions and reflections will be used to formulate your Personal Development Plan for the subsequent 12 months [your Appraiser will guide you on this].
Following your Appraisal, your Appraiser will complete [finalise] the Appraisal form and complete all sections of the REV12 form. They will then email these completed documents to you, during the 48 hours following your Appraisal.
You then upload these to your online GMC account. Within 14 days, the GMC will then email your Appraiser, to ask them to confirm that they met with you for your Appraisal and that they completed the Appraisal forms. Your Appraiser will confirm this within a few hours and your Appraisal process will then be complete.
Contact UKMA for more information
2. What is Revalidation?
Revalidation is the date that your GMC licence to practise renews. It occurs once every 5 years and it is generally set 5 years after: a] you first registered with the GMC, or b] you completed FY1 training, or c] you completed specialist training.
Contact UKMA for more information
Contact UKMA for more information
3. What is a Medical Appraisal?
UKMA provides the annual process of facilitated self-review, supported by information gathered from the full scope of your work. Your scope of practice is defined by all the types of Medical work you do, inside and or outside of the UK. Looking back over a 5 year Revalidation Cycle, the supporting information should have been gathered predominantly from UK practice. However, for any given 1 year appraisal period, this is not necessary.
There are 6 types of supporting information that are provided for appraisals and that should cover your scope[s] of practice.
1. Continuing professional development (CPD / CME) [try to aim for 50 hours each year - this can include UK-based and non-UK based activities]. The number of hours maybe less than 50, particularly if this is your first appraisal.
There are 6 types of supporting information that are provided for appraisals and that should cover your scope[s] of practice.
1. Continuing professional development (CPD / CME) [try to aim for 50 hours each year - this can include UK-based and non-UK based activities]. The number of hours maybe less than 50, particularly if this is your first appraisal.
2. Any Quality improvement activity [such as audit, case-based discussions, service improvement activities]. UKMA will provide you with templates for these.
3. Any Significant Events that you and or your team were involved in [A Significant Event is an event that did lead, or could have led, to harm].
4, Feedback from patients or those to whom you provide medical services. This needs to be collected at least once within each Revalidation Cycle, but it is not necessary to provide this for each appraisal].
5. Feedback from colleagues [Reference letters / letters of recommendation for each appraisal. These should cover each of your UK and any non-UK scope[s] of practice. Formal multi-source feedback from colleagues needs to be collected at least once within each Revalidation Cycle, but it is not necessary to provide this for each appraisal.
6. Any Compliments and complaints that you and or your team were involved in.
Contact UKMA for more information
Contact UKMA for more information
4. What is an Annual Return?
An Annual Return is the process by which doctors, who do not have a Designated Body, make a direct submission to the GMC. It comprises an Annual Appraisal [with an Appraisal form + a REV 12 form, completed by your Appraiser] + completion of certain documents on your GMC platform account, such as the REV11 form.
Please note, NHS England has discontinued the use of the MAG4 appraisal form, and it should no longer be used for appraisals. UKMA will provide you with an alternative, that is fully compliant with updated NHS England and GMC requirements.
Contact UKMA for more information
Please note, NHS England has discontinued the use of the MAG4 appraisal form, and it should no longer be used for appraisals. UKMA will provide you with an alternative, that is fully compliant with updated NHS England and GMC requirements.
Contact UKMA for more information
5. Does UKMA facilitate Appraisals for International Medical Graduates (IMGs) ?
The answer is yes, of course. We recognise the huge contribution that IMGs make to UK Medical Practice.
There are five common scenarios in which IMGs have an appraisal with the UK Medical Appraisals:
1. The IMG is working in paid clinical practice, both within the UK and outside of the UK
2. The IMG is working in paid clinical practice, outside of the UK, whilst they are actively applying for paid clinical work and or a Clinical Attachment / Observership, in the UK
3. The IMG is working in paid clinical practice, within the UK
4. The IMG is undertaking, or has recently undertaken, a Clinical Attachment / Observership in the UK, but is not in paid clinical work. However, they are actively applying for paid clinical work in the UK
5. The IMG has been on a career break / maternity leave and is actively applying for paid clinical work and or a Clinical Attachment / Observership, in the UK
Contact UKMA for more information
There are five common scenarios in which IMGs have an appraisal with the UK Medical Appraisals:
1. The IMG is working in paid clinical practice, both within the UK and outside of the UK
2. The IMG is working in paid clinical practice, outside of the UK, whilst they are actively applying for paid clinical work and or a Clinical Attachment / Observership, in the UK
3. The IMG is working in paid clinical practice, within the UK
4. The IMG is undertaking, or has recently undertaken, a Clinical Attachment / Observership in the UK, but is not in paid clinical work. However, they are actively applying for paid clinical work in the UK
5. The IMG has been on a career break / maternity leave and is actively applying for paid clinical work and or a Clinical Attachment / Observership, in the UK
Contact UKMA for more information
6. What Other Resources Does UKMA provide?
A certified course on Quality Improvement Activities for Doctors [3 CPD points] - free for all Doctors having an appraisal with UKMA
A comprehensive CPD Directory - free for all Doctors having an appraisal with UKMA
A Clinical Attachment Guide for IMGs, which includes a list of hospitals that provide Clinical Attachments - free for all Doctors having an appraisal with UKMA
A State of the Art Case Based Discussion Template - free for all Doctors having an appraisal with UKMA
A State of the Art Reference letter Template - free for all Doctors having an appraisal with UKMA
Contact UKMA for more information
A comprehensive CPD Directory - free for all Doctors having an appraisal with UKMA
A Clinical Attachment Guide for IMGs, which includes a list of hospitals that provide Clinical Attachments - free for all Doctors having an appraisal with UKMA
A State of the Art Case Based Discussion Template - free for all Doctors having an appraisal with UKMA
A State of the Art Reference letter Template - free for all Doctors having an appraisal with UKMA
Contact UKMA for more information
►Hot Topic of the Week
Monday 21st September 2026
Monday 21st September 2026
Too Busy to Exercise? How Doctors Can Stay Active During a Busy Working Week
Doctors regularly tell patients to exercise, but medicine is not an easy profession in which to follow that advice. Clinics overrun, operating lists finish late, on-call commitments disrupt routines and, after a long working day, going to the gym may have little appeal.
There is increasing evidence that physical activity matters specifically to doctors. A 2026 systematic review of 23 studies examining physical activity in physicians found that greater physical activity was consistently associated with lower burnout and stress, fewer symptoms of depression and anxiety, greater professional fulfilment and better quality of life. The review also found that physically active doctors were more likely to counsel patients about exercise and felt more confident doing so. The authors cautioned that much of the evidence was observational, so association does not necessarily prove causation.
The practical problem is therefore not convincing doctors that exercise is beneficial, but finding ways of incorporating it into a demanding working day. This is becoming an area of research in its own right. A 2026 systematic review of 10 clinical trials involving 284 surgeons examined brief intraoperative ergonomic microbreaks, usually incorporating active stretching. Six of the ten studies reported improvement in at least one outcome; pain or discomfort improved in five of eight studies assessing it, while none of the five studies examining operating time found that the breaks prolonged surgery.
The solution may therefore be to stop thinking of exercise as something that requires a separate one-hour block.
Make the Hospital Part of the Workout
Take the stairs for two or three floors rather than the lift. Walk briskly between departments rather than strolling. Walk while making telephone calls that do not require you to remain at a computer. Park further away, cycle to work, or get off public transport one stop earlier.
A 10-minute brisk walk before and after work, five days a week, already provides 100 minutes of activity.
For hospital doctors, stairs are particularly useful because they provide short bursts of relatively vigorous exercise without requiring additional travelling time.
Try a Three-Minute “Exercise Snack”
“Exercise snacks” are short bursts of activity lasting only a few minutes.
In a private office, on-call room or empty clinic room, try:
10 sit-to-stands from a chair
10 wall press-ups
15 calf raises
30–60 seconds of brisk stepping or stair climbing.
Repeat once if time permits.
This is not intended to replace a longer workout. It is a practical way of preventing a busy working day from becoming a completely inactive one.
Stretch Between Patients or Cases
Medical work creates its own physical stresses. Surgeons may spend several hours maintaining relatively static operating positions, while GPs, radiologists, psychiatrists and many other doctors can spend prolonged periods sitting at screens.
Try a two-minute mobility break:
Roll the shoulders backwards several times, gently draw the shoulder blades together, rotate the upper body from side to side, stretch the chest in a doorway and stretch the hip flexors after prolonged sitting.
In an earlier multicentre study, surgeons used targeted stretching microbreaks lasting just 1.5–2 minutes every 20–40 minutes during operations. They reported less discomfort in several areas including the neck, shoulders and lower back, without increasing operating time.
Try Five or Ten Minutes of Yoga
Yoga is particularly suitable for a busy doctor because it combines mobility, flexibility, balance, strength and controlled breathing, while requiring virtually no equipment.
A simple five-to-ten-minute routine before work or after arriving home could include:
Cat-Cow → Child's Pose → Downward-Facing Dog → Low Lunge on each side → Supine Twist.
For something slightly more energetic, try several slow Sun Salutations.
It does not have to become a one-hour yoga class. A short routine that is actually performed regularly is likely to be considerably more useful than an ambitious programme that continually gets postponed.
Strength Training Does Not Need a Gym
Two short sessions each week could include squats or sit-to-stands, lunges, press-ups or wall press-ups, resistance-band rows and simple core exercises.
Even 10–15 minutes at home is easy to incorporate.
Remove as many barriers as possible: keep resistance bands somewhere visible, leave walking shoes by the door, or exercise immediately after getting home before sitting down.
Use the Weekend
If Monday to Friday is genuinely chaotic, the weekend provides another opportunity.
A long walk, cycle, swim, run, tennis match or gym session can contribute substantially towards weekly activity. Exercise does not cease to be beneficial merely because it is concentrated into one or two days.
Health and Wellbeing at Medical Appraisal
Health and wellbeing is part of medical appraisal. This does not mean an appraiser should be checking whether a doctor belongs to a gym.
A more useful reflection is whether the doctor's working pattern allows them to protect their own physical health — and whether small changes could make that easier.
For many doctors, the answer will not be:
“Find another hour in the day.”
It may instead be:
Take the stairs. Walk faster. Stretch between cases. Do five minutes of yoga. Fit in a short strength session. Use the weekend well.
The best exercise programme is not the theoretically perfect one.
It is the one that still works during a busy week.
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