A GDC PDP template does not need to be clever. It needs to hold three things the GDC asks for, be quick to fill in, and still make sense to you in three years' time. This guide gives you a simple personal development plan template you can copy today, shows how to fill it in for different roles in the dental team, and explains how to keep the plan alive without it becoming another chore. Wherever a GDC rule comes up, we link to the GDC's own page so you can check it at the source.

What the GDC asks your PDP to include

Every GDC registrant keeps a personal development plan (PDP) as part of the Enhanced CPD scheme. The GDC's CPD guidance for dental professionals (section 5.1) sets out what the plan must contain. In short:

  • the CPD you plan to do during your cycle, relevant to your field of practice
  • the development outcomes you expect each activity to link to
  • the timeframes in which you expect to complete it.

That is the whole list. The GDC also publishes its own personal development plan templates, and its guidance says you are free to use any other tool or template instead. So the question is not "which template is the official one?" but "which one will I actually keep up to date?"

Three more points from the same guidance:

  • The PDP is for your personal use. You do not send it in with your annual CPD statement, but the GDC may ask to see it, and you declare each year that you have a plan in place. The recording and submitting CPD page explains when the GDC asks for records.
  • You can build it alone or with colleagues. Planning with your team is explicitly allowed.
  • It is meant to change. The GDC encourages you to review your plan annually as it relates to your role and daily work, and it makes sense to adjust it when your role or your learning needs change.

The development outcomes in one minute

Each planned activity should link to at least one of the GDC's four development outcomes:

  • A: effective communication with patients, the dental team and others, including when obtaining consent.
  • B: effective management of yourself, and of others or effective work with others in the dental team.
  • C: maintaining and developing knowledge and skill within your field of practice.
  • D: maintaining the skills, behaviours and attitudes that keep patients' confidence in you and the dental profession.

The exact wording is in the GDC's CPD guidance linked above. Many activities link naturally to one or two outcomes. If you find yourself ticking all four for a 30-minute course, it may be worth a second look.

A simple GDC PDP template you can copy

Here is a one-page structure that covers what the GDC asks for, plus two columns that make the plan easier to use. Copy it into a document, a spreadsheet or onto paper.

Column What to write Example (dental nurse)
1. Learning need or goal What you want to be able to do, or do better "Feel confident supporting the team in a medical emergency"
2. Why it matters The link to your patients, your role or your practice "We have patients with complex medical histories; I want to act quickly and calmly"
3. Planned CPD The activities you intend to do "Medical emergencies course; practice scenario session with the team"
4. Development outcome(s) A, B, C and/or D C, B
5. Timeframe When you expect to complete it "This CPD year, and a refresher every year"
6. Progress and reflection What you did, when, and what changed Filled in as you go

Columns 3, 4 and 5 are the GDC's three requirements. Columns 1 and 2 are there because a plan built on a real need is far easier to follow than one built on whichever course arrived in your inbox first.

Aim for a handful of main goals a year, not thirty. A short plan you revisit beats a long one you never open.

Filling it in: examples across the dental team

The template is the same for every registrant title; only the rows change. A few examples:

Dentist. A goal on improving how you explain treatment options and costs might link to outcomes A and D, with a communication course and a short audit of your own consent conversations as the planned CPD.

Dental hygienist or therapist. A goal on keeping up to date with periodontal assessment might link to outcome C, with a course this year and a review of how you record assessments.

Dental nurse. A goal on decontamination might link to outcomes C and D, with a course and a session shadowing the practice's decontamination lead.

When you plan, it is worth checking the GDC's recommended CPD topics so they are built into your plan from the start rather than squeezed in at the end of the cycle. The GDC recommends these topics rather than requiring them.

Anyone on the GDC register keeps a PDP, whatever their job title. For team members who are not registrants, such as many receptionists and administrators, the same template still works well: it gives everyone a clear, shared view of who is learning what, and why.

Planning across your cycle

Your plan covers a five-year CPD cycle, and the hours you need depend on your registrant title. The GDC's CPD scheme page sets out the hours for each title and the rule that you do at least 10 hours of verifiable CPD in any two consecutive CPD years. Only verifiable CPD counts towards your GDC hours.

In practice, that makes "little and often" the sensible shape for a PDP. Spread your goals across the cycle and give each a realistic timeframe.

Keeping your PDP alive

Most PDPs are written with great enthusiasm and then filed somewhere safe. Very safe. A few habits help:

  • Review it once a year, as the GDC encourages. Ask: which goals are done, which still matter, and what has changed in my role?
  • Update it when something changes. A new role, a new service at the practice or a significant event is a good reason to add or adjust a goal.
  • Reflect soon after each activity. Two or three sentences straight afterwards beat a page written months later, and your reflections often show you the next goal.
  • Keep the plan and the evidence together. A plan that sits in one place while your certificates sit in five others is hard to keep in step.

How Enhanced CPD Pro helps with your PDP

A paper template works, but you do all the linking and remembering yourself. Enhanced CPD Pro is built around the PDP, so the plan and the CPD that moves it forward live in the same place:

  • A usable draft PDP in 60 seconds. The app creates a usable draft PDP during onboarding, so you start with something to edit rather than a blank page.
  • An AI-assisted PDP. Your plan tracks your goals and the tasks or courses whose completion moves them forward.
  • A monthly goal in one tap. With "Click and Go", you open your PDP and tap the month's button. A goal is created with a title, description, success criteria and a selection of courses from the month's topics, all linked to your PDP, with AI help. Prefer to choose your own? You can create your own goal for the month and fill it with courses that resonate with you.
  • Reflection without the blank page. AI-assisted reflective notes use the Gibbs Reflective Cycle to help you frame your thoughts in your own words.
  • Certificates in, without typing. Upload or photograph a certificate, or email it to the app, and it creates a detailed CPD record. CPD held in other web services can be imported, so everything is in one place.
  • Reports when you need them. PDP-CPD reports help you stay on track and are built to be GDC-compliant for audits.

One subscriber put it like this:

"Enhanced CPD Pro seemed like the right choice to help me organise my CPD. I use it regularly, & I love the convenient system that allows me to manage everything with a couple of taps on my phone. I need to be able to focus on patients first & dealing with notes & certificates is not something that should take too much of my time. Enhanced CPD Pro has helped me streamline my work tremendously. It's very convenient!"

— Katrina Brown, Kelvin Smile Centre

Start your 7-day free trial of Enhanced CPD Pro, with free access to all courses and all other features. Pay nothing today and cancel any time from within the app. No strings attached.

FAQ

Is there an official GDC PDP template?

Yes. The GDC publishes personal development plan templates on its recording and submitting CPD page, and its guidance says you are free to use any other tool or template instead, as long as your plan includes what the GDC asks for.

What must a GDC PDP include?

The CPD you plan to do during your cycle, the development outcomes you expect each activity to link to, and the timeframes in which you expect to complete it. The detail is in section 5.1 of the GDC's CPD guidance.

Do I send my PDP to the GDC?

Not routinely. The PDP is for your personal use, but you declare in your annual CPD statement that you have a plan in place, and the GDC may ask to see it. The recording and submitting CPD page explains when the GDC asks for records.

How often should I update my PDP?

The GDC encourages you to review your plan annually as it relates to your role and daily work. It is also sensible to update it whenever your role or your learning needs change.

Do dental nurses need a PDP?

Yes. Every GDC registrant, including dental nurses, keeps a PDP under the Enhanced CPD scheme. The template above works for every registrant title.

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Read next: Free CPD for dental nurses: what to check first