📄 ESR & iESR Survival Guide

    

Preparing for your Educational Supervisor’s Report (ESR) can feel stressful. But it doesn’t have to be, especially if you know what’s coming, what’s expected, and how to prepare for it.

This guide breaks down what the ESR (and iESR) actually is, what your supervisor’s looking for, and how to get it done smoothly.

       

🧠 What is the ESR?

The Educational Supervisor’s Report (ESR) is a formal review of your progress, completed every year. It’s your supervisor’s chance to look at your portfolio and decide how you're doing against the 13 Capabilities of GP training.

It’s essentially their annual appraisal of your performance, based on evidence you’ve uploaded to your portfolio. 

At the end of ST3, your ESR will help decide whether you’re ready to qualify as a GP. Until then, it’s all about tracking your progress, setting learning goals, and staying on course.

      

🧾 The iESR (Interim ESR)

About halfway through the year, you’ll usually do a mini-version of the ESR, called the interim ESR (or iESR). It’s a checkpoint to make sure you’re on track.

The iESR doesn’t need full evidence and capability ratings unless concerns arise. It’s quicker, simpler, but still important.

       

✍️ How to Prepare for Your ESR

Step-by-Step on FourteenFish:

🖱️ Go to Portfolio > ESR Preparation > Click "Prepare" (top right pink link)

1. You'll see all 13 Capabilities (e.g. Fitness to Practise, Communication & Consultation).
2. For each one:
   
   • Click on the title
   • Choose your self-rating (e.g. "Meets Expectations")
   • Add 3 linked pieces of evidence (e.g. log entries, MSF, assessments)
   • Use the Narrative box to justify your rating - FourteenFish can help auto-populate this if you’ve linked evidence such as CCRs/assessments properly - this saves a lot of time!
3. Repeat for all 13 capabilities
4. Make sure your PDP is updated
5. Add Action Plans (more on that below)
6. Arrange your ESR meeting with your supervisor

💡 Tip: You can cite evidence from any point in the training year, not just the last few months. So dig back if needed! 

        

📦 What Counts as Evidence?

Your supervisor is looking for a rich mix of evidence, ideally including:

• Clinical Case Reviews (CCRs)
• Mini-CEX or COT assessments
• MSFs and CSR comments
• Significant Event Analyses
• Quality improvement work
• Team Feedback or Prescribing Assessments
• Reflections, audits, teaching, and more

💡 Tip: Don’t rely on one type of log. Mix it up! Use reflections, assessments, and MSF quotes.

        

🗂️ Capability Ratings Explained

For each Capability, you’ll rate yourself - then during your meeting, your supervisor will rate you too.

The 13 Capabilities are:

1. Fitness to Practise
2. Communication and Consultation Skills
3. Data Gathering and Interpretation
4. Making a Diagnosis / Decision
5. Clinical Management
6. Managing Medical Complexity
7. Organisation, Management and Leadership
8. Working with Colleagues and in Teams
9. Community Orientation
10. Maintaining Performance, Learning and Teaching
11. Ethical Approach
12. Fitness to Practise (yes, again — for emphasis!)
13. Clinical Examination and Procedural Skills

🎯 Your aim over time: Move from Needs Further Development → Meets expectations → maybe even Excellent

In ST1/ST2, you’re expected to mostly be in the Needs Further Development – Meets Expectations zone.

           

📝 ESR Outcomes

Your ESR can result in:

Outcome	Meaning
✅ Making progress at expected rate	You're on track - all good!
🚀 Above expected rate	You’re flying - great work
⚠️ Below expected rate	Some concerns - needs improvement
❗ Significantly below	Serious concerns - may need extra support

         

📌 PDP vs Action Plans

PDP (Personal Development Plan)

• Focused on learning needs (e.g. "Improve dermatology confidence")
• SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timed)

Action Plans

• Added after the ESR review
• Focused on capabilities that need improvement - for example, your portfolio lacked much evidence on ‘Community Orientation’ or ‘Fitness to Practice’..
  
  
• Supervisor may add extra ones if needed

           

✅ ESR Prep Checklist

Here’s a quick summary checklist:

☑️ Complete self-ratings for all 13 Capabilities
☑️ Link 3 good pieces of evidence per Capability (minimum)
☑️ Complete and update your PDP
☑️ Add 2–3 Action Plans
☑️ Ensure all required learning assessments are uploaded
☑️ Arrange ESR meeting with your supervisor
☑️ Be ready to discuss your strengths, weaknesses, and goals

Tip: Use MSF and CSR comments as extra quotes in your Capability narratives.

        

Practical Tips

💡 Don’t wait until the week before. Start linking logs early - even one or two per Capability per month is plenty!

💡 If you’re LTFT, the same ESR frequency applies - but your evidence quantity is pro-rata.

💡 If your ARCP is in <2 months, an iESR won’t be accepted - go for full ESR.

             

📎 What’s Next?

Now that you’ve got your ESR sorted, check out our Registrar Essential series - it will save you £100s–£1,000s per year! Start here..

➡️ Claiming Tax Rebates as a GP Trainee
➡️ Mileage & Relocation Expenses