Led by Leicestershire LDC, the East Midlands Local Dental Committees are piloting a study day programme for Performer List Validation by Experience (PLVE) candidates. This will be open to dentists working in the East Midlands who qualified outside the UK, including EU and non-EU graduates.

All dentists, working within the NHS, are required to be on the national performers' list. The usual route to this is by completing Foundation Training (FT), formerly vocational training, immediately post-qualification.

Dentists qualifying outside the UK may not be eligible for Foundation Training and need to obtain a performer number, through the PLVE programme. The applying dentist has to be assessed by NHS England in consultation with Health Education England (HEE) to decide whether they can be admitted to the list. In many respects PLVE mirrors the FD process.

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Both FT and PLVE require the dentist seeking the performer number to work under the supervision of an approved trainer/mentor in an approved training practice. They also require the dentist to have weekly tutorials and complete a portfolio of experience. Foundation dentists attend 30 external study days during their 12-month long training programme. This is not a requirement for PLVE dentists, and it is widely perceived as a gap in the programme.

Starting in January 2020, the LDCs will provide a monthly study day which will include lectures and workshops, covering key elements of the portfolio, case discussion, peer review, audit, case presentation and support with portfolios.

For further information contact Philip Martin or Branan Sivanantha at LDCLeicester@aol.com