MEDICAL APPRAISAL AND REVALIDATION SYSTEM (MARS) - Quick tips for successful appraisal/revalidation

Sep 2, 2026

MEDICAL APPRAISAL AND REVALIDATION SYSTEM (MARS) quick tips guide doctors through preparing for annual appraisal and revalidation. It specifies required components including CPD, QIA, SEA, review of complaints and compliments, and MSF during the 5-year cycle. It instructs accurate personal data entry, domain coverage using templates, and mandatory evidence for “Probity and Complaints.” It also covers PID handling, avoiding duplicate CPD counting, using the “My Appraisal” PDP tabs correctly, and confirming appraisal summaries turn scorecard sections green with discussed evidence.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLetters

FormatDOCX

Pages2

Reading Time1 min

AccessFree to download

Quick tips for successful Appraisal/Revalidation

Annual appraisal requirements

Preparing entries and templates

Evidence, privacy (PID), and probity

CPD counting and PDP planning

Confirming the appraisal summary

Useful contact information

MEDICAL APPRAISAL AND REVALIDATION SYSTEM (MARS) Quick tips for a successful Appraisal/Revalidation 1. You must take part in an annual appraisal which must include: CPD (in line with Royal College). Quality Improvement Activity (QIA). Significant Event Analysis (SEA). Review of Complaints & Compliments. Colleague & Patient Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) – once in each 5 year revalidation cycle and discussed in an appraisal. 2. Give yourself plenty of time to become familiar with the system – there is a steep learning curve! In particular, completing the Equiniti Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) package will take longer than you think. 3. Ensure all your personal data is entered correctly. 4. Ensure at least one entry has been made in the 4 different domains – this will make it easier for your appraiser to pull across key information into the appraisal Summary and it will make the final report look tidier. 5. If you are revalidating, ensure Domains 1, 2 and 3 have at least one entry in each domain using a Revalidation template (rather than, or in addition to, any personal or team entries) – the revalidation templates are easier to pull across to the appraisal summary and this feeds into the revalidation process – the Responsible Officer will primarily be judging entries on these templates when making a decision to revalidate. 6. Under the “Safety and Quality” Domain, ensure you enter at least one “Significant Event” using the revalidation template provided. If you have not had a complaint or significant event as an individual, use a critical incident that affected your team, and reflect on this. The Significant Event template feeds directly into the Revalidation Scorecard and once your appraiser confirms that a discussion has taken place this turns one of the boxes “green” on the revalidation progress page. If possible, do the same with a clinical audit. 7. NHS-Wales-Appraisal advises that no patient-identifiable information (PID) should be uploaded on to MARS. This means you will not be able to upload clinical portal letters or complaints responses unless they have been anonymised or the names redacted. If you wish to provide evidence which has PID, please print it and bring it to the appraisal to be viewed in person. 8. The “Probity and Complaints” section is MANDATORY. If you have not ticked the relevant boxes and provided the necessary evidence it will hold up the whole process. Do not submit your appraisal without answering all of the questions in this section. 9. If you have had any complaints in the previous year, enter evidence of these along with appropriate reflections using personal templates. If the complaint related to a significant event, then you may wish to use the revalidation template (NB – what you and the appraiser enter on the system will be pulled across to the final report). 10. Please note that you should avoid duplicating CPD points. If you have already uploaded a summary from your royal college website with a CPD total, and are then reflecting on a key activity using the MARS system, do not add any credit on MARS for that activity– this will add those hours on to your CPD total and will be double-counting this activity. During your appraisal you should agree with your appraiser the total CPD hours that you wish to be accounted for. 11. If you are an academic, upload evidence of your academic appraisal on to the MARS system – MARS should cover the entirety of your professional life. 12. If you undertake private practice in a private institution, ensure that you upload into Domain 1 a report/letter from the medical director of the private institution indicating that there are no active complaints or incidents – MARS should cover the entirety of your professional life (Whole Practice Appraisal). 13. Using the “My Appraisal” tab, open up “My Living PDP” – populate this with your previous PDP information and enter draft goals for your upcoming appraisal year – this will then be discussed and fin

FAQs

What must be included in an annual appraisal for MARS revalidation?

An annual appraisal must include CPD, Quality Improvement Activity (QIA), Significant Event Analysis (SEA), review of complaints & compliments, and Colleague & Patient Multi-Source Feedback (MSF) once within each 5-year revalidation cycle.

How should entries be prepared to make the appraisal and revalidation summary easier?

Use entries across at least one of the four domains, and ensure at least one entry in Domains 1, 2, and 3 for revalidating using the provided Revalidation templates so they can be pulled into the appraisal summary.

What are the rules for patient-identifiable information (PID) uploaded to MARS?

Do not upload patient-identifiable information (PID) to MARS. If evidence contains PID, print it and bring it to the appraisal for in-person viewing, or ensure names are redacted/anonymised.

Sep 2, 2026

Upload by Jordan Avery