This ACP curriculum was launched in September 2022.
+ Advanced Clinical Practitioner (ACP) Curriculum 2022
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) EM-ACP Curriculum provides the framework for Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACPs) who wish to apply for credential status with the College. The curriculum defines the competences that the EM-ACP is expected to demonstrate and describes the expected standard and required evidence.
Following publication of the 2021 RCEM medical curriculum, the RCEM EM-ACP curriculum was refreshed and revised, adapting the content of the medical curriculum for ACPs, whilst retaining both the standard and breadth of practice defined in the previous RCEM ACP curriculum published in 2017.
The 2022 RCEM EM-ACP curriculum was launched on 05 September 2022. There are two separate curricula, one for adults and one for children, depending on scope of practice:
RCEM EM-ACP Curriculum (Adult)
RCEM EM-ACP Curriculum (Children)
The first credentialing panel for the 2022 ACP curriculum will be in Spring 2024, with the final opportunity to credential under the 2017 ACP curriculum being Autumn 2024. Please see the transition guidance below for advice on whether you will need to transition to the 2022 curriculum.
See the 2017 ACP Curriculum.
These regulations pertain to the credentialing process for the 2022 Emergency Medicine ACP curriculum (adult and children). The first credentialing opportunity for the 2022 curriculum will be Spring 2024.
March 2024: Timeframe for completing WPBAs and adding posts to ePortfolio
The Royal College of Emergency Medicine is keen to support EM-ACPs and ensure recognition of the RCEM Credential across specialty and institutional boundaries.
The RCEM Academic Committee in conjunction with the ACP Credentialing Sub-Committee and ACP Forum, have determined that from Spring 2026, ACPs must have a full Masters degree to achieve RCEM EM-ACP credentialing (adult or children) in line with the standards described in the four pillars of advanced practice. We believe this supports consistency across credentialing processes. ACPs will still be able to credential with a PGDip prior to Spring 2026.
ACPs who are about to commence or are in the early stages of development and evidence collection in anticipation of RCEM credentialing, should note this change and, if not intending to complete the full Masters, are advised to discuss this with their Educational Supervisor.
For further information, please email ACP@rcem.ac.uk
The majority of EM-ACPs currently working towards credentialing should consider switching to the 2022 ACP curriculum (the RCEM ePortfolio will remain on the risr/advance platform but will look and function differently for those on the 2022 curriculum). This document briefly summarises how you might make your decision.
2022 ACP Curriculum Transition Principles
Transition to the 2022 ACP curriculum should not result in more work for tACPs or their supervisors. However, it is strongly recommended that EM-ACPs meet with their Educational Supervisor as soon as possible following transition to identify existing evidence that will remain applicable to the 2022 curriculum and that which will need to be completed post-transition. We have published detailed transition guidance to assist ACPs and supervisors with this process.
2022 ACP Curriculum Transition Guidance
To request transition to the 2022 ACP curriculum within the ePortfolio, ACPs should click on Create a new event and complete the Curriculum Migration form. ACPs must also email ePortfolio@rcem.ac.uk to notify the ePortfolio team that this form has been submitted. Migration should be completed within 10 working days.
Please note: prior to submitting a transition request, ACPs must ensure all open forms/tickets are closed and all requested MSF responses received. The Educational Supervisor will also need to ensure they have completed (and saved as final) the STR and FEGS for the year leading up to transition as the 2017 forms will no longer be accessible once the ACP has been migrated to the 2022 curriculum.
If an ACP has already transitioned to the 2022 ACP curriculum without the STR and FEGS having been completed for the year prior to transition, the Educational Supervisor will need to complete these reports using the templates provided below. These should be saved as a PDF file, uploaded to the document library within the ePortfolio by the ACP, and linked to the credentialing checklist prior to submission.
Structured Training Report (2017 curriculum)
Faculty Educational Governance Statement (2017 curriculum)
All ACPs working towards the RCEM EM-ACP credential should, by now, have met with their Educational Supervisors to decide whether they may remain on the 2017 ACP curriculum or will need to transition to the 2022 ACP curriculum. If this discussion has not yet taken place, please arrange to meet as soon as possible.
In response to questions raised by both ACPs and Supervisors regarding the transition process, the following guidance has been produced. This includes information on who will need to transition, ePortfolio migration, actions to take prior to migration, RCEM ACP Supervisor training, the new RCEM ACP Educational Supervisor role on the ePortfolio platform, and the Foundation Sign-Off required for all ACPs credentialing on the 2022 curriculum.
RCEM EM-ACP curriculum (2022) – Important information for ACPs and ACP Educational Supervisors
RCEM has produced a series of help sheets providing additional advice and guidance on specific areas of the 2022 ACP curriculum. We will be adding further topics in due course.
For information on the EM-ACP credentialing process for the 2017 ACP curriculum, including application window dates for 2024, please visit the Emergency Medicine – Advanced Clinical Practitioner (EM-ACP) page of the website.
There will be two credentialing opportunities in 2024 – in Spring and Autumn. In Autumn 2024 there will be two separate application windows – one for ACPs submitting a new application or full resubmission, and a later one for ACPs who received a ‘limited resubmission’ outcome in Spring 2024 and wish to submit their additional evidence to the following Panel for review.
ACPs who wish to apply must be confident, along with their ACP Educational Supervisor, that they will have appropriate evidence of acquisition of all required competences across the curriculum and clinical syllabus uploaded to their ePortfolio before the closing date (any evidence submitted after this date will not be considered except in exceptional circumstances and at the sole discretion of the Chair of the ACP Credentialing Panel).
To submit your credentialing application, you will be required to complete an online registration form once the application window opens. Details of the application fee structure can be found below.
ACPs submitting within the Autumn 2024 application window will also be required to complete and upload a ‘map of evidence’ which will ensure that the Panel is able to locate and review the single item of evidence (or items if more than one is specifically indicated) that the ACP feels best demonstrates their capability against each SLO/KC.
The ‘map of evidence’ (templates below) must be uploaded to the RCEM ePortfolio as a Word document no later than Sunday 1 September 2024 using the ACP Document UPLOAD event and named ‘Map of evidence Autumn 2024’.
All portfolios must be signed-off by an ACP Educational Supervisor who meets the eligibility criteria stipulated in the regulations. For ACPs submitting an adult or concurrent adult and children credentialing application, the ACP Educational Supervisor must:
They must also:
ACPs submitting an application to credential in children must have an ACP Educational Supervisor who either meets all criteria above OR:
Please note: ACPs may continue to upload evidence to their portfolio after completing the online registration form until the application window closes.
The College has provided additional information and guidance to help ACPs and ACP Educational Supervisors with the application and portfolio sign-off processes for the Autumn 2024 credentialing opportunity.
Quick guide to portfolio sign-off for ACP Educational Supervisors and ACPs
If you have any questions regarding the application process, please email ACP@rcem.ac.uk
| Autumn 2024 (new application or full resubmission) | |
| Please complete the online credentialing registration form. Please note that the form will only be available during the application window. |
|
| Application window opens | 9am, Monday 19 August 2024 |
| Application window closes | 11.59pm, Sunday 01 September 2024 |
| Credentialing Panel | Friday 22 November 2024 |
| Autumn 2024 (limited resubmission) | |
| Please complete the online credentialing registration form. Please note that the form will only be available during the application window. | |
| Application window opens | 9am, Monday 30 September 2024 |
| Application window closes | 11.59pm, Sunday 06 October 2024 |
| Credentialing Panel | Friday 22 November 2024 |
| Application type | Fee |
| New application | £295 |
| Full resubmission (for ACPs who have received a prior “unsuccessful” outcome, or a “limited resubmission” outcome awarded prior to the previous credentialing window) | £295 |
| Limited resubmission (for ACPs who received a “limited resubmission” outcome in the previous credentialing window) | £75 |
| NB: if a “limited resubmission” outcome was awarded prior to the previous credentialing window, the application will be recognised as a “full resubmission”. | |
As part of a system-wide upgrade to the risr/advance ePortfolio platform, the way that documents are uploaded has changed. As from 02 July 2024, the Document section has been replaced by a Files area and all documents, images, media files, etc. will now need to be uploaded as an ‘event. We have published detailed guidance to assist ACPs on the credentialing pathway with this process.
Changes to the ePortfolio platform – guidance for ACPs
Further information on the upgrade can be found on the RCEM ePortfolio page.
All Educational Supervisors of ACPs working towards credential must complete RCEM ACP Supervisor training, details of which are provided on this page.
Find out more
In 2015, the Royal College of Emergency Medicine opened a pilot scheme for credentialing Advanced Clinical Practitioners in Emergency Medicine.
Find out more
Credentialing is a process whereby individuals provide evidence to demonstrate that they have achieved defined competencies.
Find out more
The deadline for face-to-face registrations has now closed.
But you can still attend virtually – the deadline for online registration
is Tuesday 8 October at 07.00 BST.
Click the link below to book your place now.
