OOH sessions are the most commonly incomplete ARCP requirement. Not because trainees do not attend — but because they attend without documenting.
The Requirement
12 OOH sessions total across the training programme. You can have a maximum of 2 remaining at final ARCP if they are booked and evidenced. Each session requires a signed OOH form scanned and attached to a learning log entry in FourteenFish with a reflective component.
Common Mistakes
Completing the session but not uploading the form. Uploading the form but not adding a learning log entry. Adding a learning log entry that says "attended OOH" without any reflection. Leaving OOH sessions until the final year — sessions fill up and scheduling becomes difficult.
Documentation Checklist
Attend OOH session → get supervisor to sign OOH form → scan form → create learning log entry in FourteenFish → attach scanned form → write reflection → link to relevant capabilities.
Reflection Guidance
OOH is a genuine learning opportunity — not just a tick-box. Reflect on: clinical encounters with acute or undifferentiated presentations, how unscheduled care differs from scheduled consultations, time pressure and clinical decision-making under uncertainty, cases where you needed senior input, cases where you managed independently.
Arrangement
Book early in each training year. Popular OOH sessions fill up quickly. Late booking causes ARCP problems — even if the delay is not your fault, a missing session is a missing session. Variety matters — different settings (GP OOH, A&E, urgent care), different times (evenings, weekends, nights), and different patient populations.
Where iatroX Fits
After OOH sessions, use Ask iatroX to explore the acute presentations you encountered — this generates both deeper learning and CPD entry material for your portfolio. The clinical questions that arose during OOH become the seeds for meaningful reflections and PDP entries.