Eligibility
Please review the Person Specifications for each specialty, as defined by the DH:
As can be seen, there are a number of entry criteria common to all specialties. To be eligible to be considered for an ST3 post, all applicants must:
• have gained an MBBS (or equivalent medical qualification) and MRCP Part I
• be eligible for full registration with the GMC at time of appointment, and hold a current and valid licence to practise
• be eligible to work in the UK
• have demonstrable skills in written and spoken English
• have 24 months’ experience in medical specialty medicine (not including Foundation modules) by August 2010
• be able to provide evidence of achievement of CT1/ST1 competences, and CT2/ST2 competences in medicine by time of appointment
MBBS & MRCP Part 1
You must have MRCP(UK) Part 1 at the time of application to be eligible to apply. Equivalent examinations (e.g. MRCP(Ireland) ) are acceptable to demonstrate eligibility, however MRCP(UK) is the only examination recognised by PMETB for training purposes – thus only candidates with MRCP(UK) will be able to obtain a CCT as opposed to a CESR(CP).
GMC registration & licensing
To be eligible to apply to ST3, an applicant must at least be eligible for GMC registration at the time of application, and must be fully GMC-registered – and licensed – by the time of appointment, i.e. post start date.
Eligible to work in the UK
UK/EEA nationals need only provide their passport (plus naturalisation papers where applicable) to demonstrate their eligibility.
Non-UK/EEA nationals whose immigration status entitles them to work without restriction in the UK will be considered on an equal basis with UK/EEA nationals.
Non-UK/EEA nationals with limited leave to remain in the UK, and whose employment will require Tier 2 sponsorship, are subject to the Resident Labour Market Test.
Please note – in all matters relating to immigration and visa status, applicants should first visit the websites of the UKBA (www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk) and DH (www.mmc.nhs.uk) and contact those bodies first. Our office here cannot provide specific advice relating to individual queries on immigration.
Demonstrable English skills
All candidates are required to have demonstrable skills in written and spoken English, adequate to enable effective communication about medical/health topics with patients, colleagues and the public.
Applicants who have undertaken undergraduate medical training in English will not be required to provide any further information. Other applicants are required to provide alternative evidence of English skills; the most common method being IELTS (International English Language Testing System). Minimum IELTS score is 7 overall, with a minimum of 7 for each component (reading, writing, speaking, listening), with all component scores taken at the same time, and scores awarded within the two years prior to application date.
Alternatively, candidates can provide a letter from a supervisor attesting to their language skills (although this should be verified in advance with any deaneries to which they wish to apply). This should include the name and position of the letter’s author, how long the author has known the applicant and in what capacity, confirmation of satisfactory English language skills in all domains; and the letter must be written on the employer’s (i.e. hospital/Trust) headed notepaper and signed by the employer.
Communication will also be a skill assessed at the interview stage.
24 months’ experience in medical specialty medicine
Experience in medical specialty medicine means experience at CMT level, anywhere in the world, in any medical specialty post. CMT-level posts can include LAT, ST, SHO, FTSTA or equivalent posts, undertaken in any medical specialty – please see here for a list of medical specialties.
Candidates must have accrued a minimum of 24 months’ experience in such posts/specialties – not including Foundation – to be eligible.
Foundation competency
Within the RCP-hosted ST3 recruitment process, if a candidate can supply evidence that they have achieved and demonstrated CT/ST-level competencies, it will be taken as read that they have achieved and possess Foundation competence.
Core competency
The Core (CMT) competencies required are listed in the GIM curriculum, which can be accessed from http://www.jrcptb.org.uk/training/CMT/Pages/default.aspx. To be eligible, you must have achieved, and be able to prove achievement of, all of these competencies; the method by which you can do that will depend on which of the categories below you come under:
1. You are on the 2nd year of a PMETB-approved 2 year CMT programme
You must have a satisfactory CT1-level ARCP that you can show at any interview, and must be on track to gain a satisfactory CT2-level ARCP – and possibly also a CMT Certificate issued by JRCPTB.
2. You have previously undertaken CMT training, and have a satisfactory ARCP outcome at CT2 level (and possibly also a CMT Certificate issued by the JRCPTB)
You will be required to attach proof of satisfactory training at CT2-level to any application you make, and show the original at any interview you attend.
3. You have undertaken a College-approved SHO training programme prior to the inception of PMETB-approval in August 2007
You will be required to show evidence of satisfactory General Professional Training (GPT) in the form of a satisfactory RITA or Educational / Clinical Supervisor’s report.
4. You have previously undertaken SHO or CMT-level training (which may be in training or non-training posts) but do not have adequate proof of training as defined in the above categories
You will have a number of options to prove competency in this case:
- Completion of Certificate C (CMT) by someone who has supervised you for a period of 3 months or more. Certificate C is available for download now from the Downloads page of our website, and is essentially a list of CMT-level competencies as defined in the curriculum http://www.jrcptb.org.uk/Specialty/Documents/2009 GIM curriculum.PDF. All competencies must be validated for the Certificate C Proof of Competency documentation to be valid. For this recruitment round, completion of Certificate C (CMT) is optional.
- Showing, at any interview to which you are invited, other evidence of CMT-equivalent competency (e.g. log books, appraisals, reflective practice, assessments etc)
If you have no proof of CMT (or equivalent) training, it will be at the discretion of recruiters to accept your claims to have CMT-equivalent competency, based on your previous experience.
Use of Certificate C is strongly recommended in these circumstances. Please note, that whilst possession of the full MRCP(UK) diploma is considered to demonstrate many of the GPT / CMT competencies, on its own it is not sufficient proof of all competencies required.
Please note that you may be required to submit the relevant documentation at the time of application, so it is advised that you start collecting your proof of training now. Original documents must be shown at any interview to which you are invited. At present, there is no absolute time limit between gaining CMT (or equivalent) competencies, and commencement of ST3 training, but recruiters will be required to satisfy themselves that claims to continuing competency in skills not practised for some years remain valid.
References are used after the recruitment process to confirm appointability. Whilst it is expected that referees will confirm possession of CMT-level competency, use of a reference on its own to prove CMT-equivalent competency will not be considered sufficient.
For more information, please see our Applicants’ Guide (Downloads page).
For any further queries, please email our helpdesk at st3recruitment@rcplondon.ac.uk.