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In April 2012 the UK Border Agency will close the Tier 1 (post study work) immigration route. UK graduates, who are on a UK Foundation Programme and have limited leave to remain (usually Tier 4 or Permit Free Training) which expires August 2012, are able to apply for ST1 level specialty training programmes and will be considered along with all UK/EEA applicants. If appointed to a specialty training programme, they will need to apply for a Tier 2 sponsorship but and are exempt from having to satisfy the Resident Labour Market Test.
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To hold a recognised primary medical
qualification – Applicants that do not hold a recognised primary
medical qualification will not be considered. Applicants will be
required to produce their certificate when attending
selection
centre. |
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To be fully registered with the UK GMC
at the time of application OR be eligible for full UK GMC
registration at time of application – Applicants who are not fully
registered and not eligible for full registration with UK GMC will
not be considered. There is no exemption from PLAB for GP training.
Applicants will be required to produce evidence of their GMC
registration when attending selection centre. Applicants are
reminded that from 16th November 2009, all doctors must also hold a
valid licence to practice from the UK GMC. |
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Evidence of current employment in a UK
Affiliated Foundation Programme OR evidence of achievement of
Foundation Competencies within the last 3 years - Applicants who
have not completed a UK foundation programme within the last 3 years
must be able to provide evidence of achieving equivalent
foundation
competences within this time-frame by submitting an Alternative
Certificate. This must be attached to the application form before
submission. These will be assessed locally in the first instance
and the Deanery will let applicants know if their evidence has been
accepted. Further information regarding standard documentation
required is given below. All applicants will be required to produce
original documentation for verification when attending
selection
centre. |
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To hold a current valid driving
licence OR able to provide satisfactory alternative as a means of
providing emergency and domiciliary care to fulfil the requirements
of the post – applicants who do not hold a valid driving licence
will be asked to agree to a statement of intent that they will
provide an alternative means of transport in order to undertake home
visits and emergency out of hours care with minimal additional
assistance from the employing practice. Applicants will be required
to produce their driving licence or sign a statement of intent when
attending selection
centre. |
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Evidence of English Language
Proficiency – Applicants whose primary medical degree was not
taught in English or those who have not achieved an overall Academic
IELTS score of 7.0 or above and a score of 7.0 or above for each
component within the last 2 years, will be asked to provide
alternative supporting evidence of their English language
proficiency. This could be that they have worked in the UK NHS for
at least two years or that they have another English Language
qualification (not PLAB) achieved within the last 2 years or, if
they have worked in the UK NHS for less than 2 years, a letter from
a supervising consultant confirming English language proficiency.
Such evidence will need to be produced when attending selection
centre. If none of the above is applicable, the applicant must
detail what evidence they are able to submit in order to demonstrate
their English language proficiency. |
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To be able to legally work in the UK –
Applicants must be able to legally work in the UK. Doctors who
require a work permit (Tier 2) or Certificate of Sponsorship from an
employer may apply if eligible but will only be made an offer where
there are no remaining suitable UK/EEA applicants. See
Overseas
doctors for more information. |
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To not have more than 18 months
previous experience in a GP training programme - Applicants who have
undertaken more than 18 months in a GP training programme either in
the UK or elsewhere are not eligible to apply except where that
training did not include both women’s health and paediatric/child
health medicine. |
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To not have resigned or been released from a UK GP training programme – Applicants who have previously completed part of a UK GP training programme/Vocational training scheme and resigned or been released will not be considered unless they have a letter of support from either the PG Dean or GP Director of the deanery in which they worked. Examples of being released include ARCP outcome 4 or two or more failed VTR1 or GP RITA E’s. |
Evidence of Foundation CompetenceThe National Person Specification for entry to all specialty training programmes (including FTSTA posts) requires applicants to provide evidence of achievement of Foundation competences within the last 3 years in line with GMC standards/Good Medical Practice including:
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Good clinical care |
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Maintaining good medical practice |
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Good relationships and communication with patients |
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Good working relationships with colleagues |
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Good teaching and training |
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Professional behaviour and probity |
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Delivery of good acute clinical care |
All applicants to General Practice specialty training must demonstrate all the competences without exception using the prescribed evidence as outlined below.
Possession of foundation competences is essential for successful applicants to cope with, and progress through specialty training. Demonstrating foundation competences also ensures that doctors can practise safely in line with GMC standards. To achieve this, it is crucial that this submitted evidence is current. It is not sufficient to have achieved each competence once. Competences must be achieved, maintained and demonstrated.
The acceptable methods for demonstrating foundation competences are listed below. No other evidence will be accepted as previous experience has shown it to be unreliable. For example, specialist qualifications do not demonstrate the breadth of foundation competences and candidates are not typically readily able to cope with the first year of core or specialty training. Candidates who achieved foundation competences in the past but since then focused their career in a small specialised area would also typically find it difficult to cope in the first year of specialty training. The broad spectrum of foundation competences must be demonstrated to qualify the candidate for entry to year one of specialty training. It is the candidate’s responsibility to satisfactorily demonstrate that this criterion has been fulfilled.
The application form will ask you a series of questions to help you determine the most appropriate form of evidence. Your answers to these questions will also allow us to assess your eligibility to apply for a GP specialty training programme and you will be expected to provide standardised documentation to verify your answers. This guidance is provided to help you to prepare your 2012 application.
Currently on a foundation programmeIf you are currently undertaking a recognised foundation programme in the UK which is due to finish in August 2012, we will ask you to confirm the name of your Foundation School. You do not need to do anything else. You do not need to submit any evidence. Any offer of a programme will be conditional upon you successfully completing this programme and being awarded an FACD 5.2 before August 2012. This includes those applying for a delayed start date due to illness or maternity. If you are undertaking a “stand alone” FY2 post that is NOT part of a recognised foundation programme attached to a UK foundation school and you do not expect to be awarded with an FACD 5.2 upon satisfactory completion, then you must answer NO to this question on the application form (Are you currently on a UK Foundation Year 2 Programme?) and you will be required to submit an alternative evidence as detailed below.
Already completed a foundation programmeIf you have already completed a UK foundation programme within the last 3 years (since 1st August 2009), we will ask you to confirm that you have been awarded an FACD 5.2. You MUST attach a scanned copy of your FACD 5.2 to your application. Our Guide to applying online explains how to do this. You will be expected to provide the original certificate at a later date.
Anybody who is not in 1
or 2 aboveIf you have not undertaken a UK foundation programme within the last 3 years, you will be able to submit alternative evidence by asking a consultant who has supervised you for at least 3 months since 1st August 2009 to attest to your achievement of foundation competences. (For the purposes of this documentation, consultant includes GPs, Clinical Directors, Medical Superintendents and anyone on the specialty register). There are two Alternative Certificates available for download; one for specialties WITH acute medical responsibilities and one for specialties WITHOUT acute medical responsibilities. A list of specialties with acute medical responsibilities is available from our Download section. You may submit more than one Alternative Certificate from different posts in order to show evidence of achievement of all competencies but all certificates must relate to posts undertaken for at least 3 months since August 2009.
You MUST attach scanned copies of the certificates to your application form. Please refer to our Guide to applying online which includes some helpful tips on how to do this. You will be expected to provide the original document(s) at a later date.
We expect ALL doctors applying to a specialty training programme to have had at least 24 months experience in certain posts, either in the UK or overseas, since gaining their primary medical qualification and before commencing a specialty training programme.
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12 months satisfactory completion of either a pre-registration, internship* or FY1 post AND 12 months full time satisfactory completion in posts approved for the purposes of medical education by the relevant authority. |
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12 months satisfactory completion of either a pre-registration, , internship* or FY1 post AND 12 months full time experience at a publicly funded hospital in at least two specialties with acute medical responsibilities as shown in List “A” of the List of Specialties (see below). |
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12 months satisfactory completion of either a pre-registration, internship* or FY1 post AND a 12 month full time FY2 post. |
*An internship is a period of pre-graduate or post-graduate clinical
experience that provides an accepted foundation for future practice as a
fully registered and licensed medical practitioner. Internships must be
either a 12 month programme that includes a minimum of 3 months in
surgery and 3 months in medicine OR a programme of at least 10 months
duration that includes a minimum of 3 months in surgery and 3 months in
medicine with an additional study period of up to 2 months OR the
equivalent of 12 months full time post-qualification at a publicly
funded hospital in at least two branches of medicine.
You will not be required to submit evidence of your previous experience at the application stage but the deanery may request you to provide it later during the recruitment process.
The signatory does not necessarily have to personally witness the demonstration of every competence, but he or she must be able to judge whether the evidence they have seen/had presented to them demonstrates competence. The Deanery have no discretion in this regard.
The post the certificate refers to must be of at least 3 months duration (whole time equivalent), has to have been completed by the time of the submission deadline and undertaken within the 3 years before commencement of the post you are applying for.
Clinical attachments do NOT count as experience.
If you are unable to provide any of the above because, for example, you have not worked within the last 3 years then you are advised to secure a second year UK foundation programme post before applying for a specialty training programme. Alternatively, you could secure a post that will enable you to demonstrate foundation competency to a consultant who could then provide you with an Alternative Certificate, eg. A locum or Trust post.
We understand that refugee doctors may have less access to standardised documentation and in rare cases may not be able to obtain an Alternative Certificate. If you are unable to provide any of the above because of your refugee status, you should contact your first choice deanery for advice before submitting your application form. Refugee doctors will be required to provide an Alternative Certificate wherever possible.
Alternative certificates A and B and a list of specialties with acute medical responsibilities are available from our download section.
Note: Applications for August 2012 must use these 2012 Alternative Certificates for applications to General Practice specialty training programmes. Documentation from 2010 or earlier will not be accepted but 2011 certificates may be accepted provided they continue to meet all other requirements detailed above. Alternative Certificates A & B and a list of specialties with acute medical responsibilities are available from our Download section.
Stage 2 Assessment (Computer Based Test)All eligible applicants (i.e. those who have been assessed as demonstrating evidence of eligibility as outlined above) will be invited to attend the next stage of our recruitment and selection process. Stage 2 is an initial assessment which forms our short-listing process and also enables us to rank candidates before allocating them to a deanery for Stage 3 selection Centre. The Stage 2 assessment has been fully researched and evaluated and has been shown to have high predictive validity.
From 2011, the Stage 2 assessment has been delivered using computer based testing methods which will allow us to run the assessment on a number of consecutive days in a large number of Pearson Vue computer testing centres throughout the whole of the UK. The format of the assessment remains unchanged although we will be using a large number of different equated test forms. See below for more information about the Stage 2 assessment.
The opportunity to sit the stage 2 assessment outside of the UK will be available in 2013. Further details of centres/locations available will be published closer to the time.
Applicants will receive an e-mail which informs them that their
application has been accepted and are invited to book a Stage 2
assessment place at their nearest centre. Places should be booked via
the Pearson Vue web site at
www.pearsonvue.com/nro
and the e-mail will give full details of how
to do this. Applicants will need to create an account using their first
name, last name as it appears on their GP application and their GP application number.
Pearson Vue will send applicants a confirmatory e-mail once a place has
been scheduled. The e-mail will give information about the centre and
what to bring with you.
If you are unable to attend your scheduled test, you MUST cancel 24 hours before the test is due to be delivered via the www.pearsonvue.com.nro website. If you do not cancel within this time frame and you subsequently fail to attend a booked test, the NRO will in turn inform your referees and pass the cost on to you.
You MUST provide acceptable photographic ID, such as a driving licence or passport, when you attend in order to take the assessment. If you arrive without acceptable identification, you will NOT be allowed to enter the assessment centre.
All deaneries are aware of the requirements of the DDA and in this regard we will make all reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled applicants at the assessment provided these are made known to us in advance. Applicants who require adjustments (wheelchair access or extra time for example) must inform their first choice deanery of any special requirements at the earliest possible opportunity. Documentary evidence will be required. Not all venues will be able to accommodate such special needs and applicants may be required to telephone to schedule a Stage 2 place instead of booking on-line.
Applicants should note that children are not permitted at any of the test centres.
None of the GP question writers take part in or endorse any preparation courses or books. All the information you need to prepare for the GP Stage 2 assessment is available on this web site. There is no option to take the initial assessment a year early if you are planning to take a gap year between foundation and specialty training. We will be able to offer the Stage 2 assessment in a number of overseas centres from 2013.
More about the Stage 2 assessment Candidates must present themselves at the test centre 15 minutes before the scheduled appointment time to complete the necessary check-in procedures. It is absolutely essential that you arrive on time – candidates who arrive late will NOT be admitted.
Failure to attend a booked test will result in the NRO informing your
referees and passing the cost on to you. If you are unable to attend
your scheduled test, you MUST cancel 24 hours before the test is
due to be delivered via the
www.pearsonvue.com.nro website.
You will be required to present a current valid passport or current
valid UK or EU photo card driving licence as means of identification. If
you present a biometric passport that does not have a signature, you
will need to provide a secondary form of identification with your full
name and signature for example, a debit or credit card. The name on your
identification documents must match the name used on your GP specialty
training application form. If the names are different, for example, if
one is a maiden name and the other a married name, you must present
official documentation that links the two names, for example, a marriage
certificate. Candidates who do not provide acceptable identification
will NOT be admitted.
You are not allowed to take anything into the test room itself,
including food and drink. There are lockers at every test centre where
items such as mobile phones, wallets, food and drink can be securely
kept. You are allowed to leave the test room for water or the toilet but
no additional time will be given.
The assessment will begin with a short tutorial to familiarise you
with the controls and layout of the screens and that you know how to
record your answers. Applicants can also access the tutorial in advance
from www.pearsonvue.com/nro.
There are two parts to the Stage 2 assessment; both are designed to
assess some of the essential competences outlined in the
National Person Specification and are
based around clinical scenarios.
This part focuses on your approach to practising medicine. The paper lasts 110 minutes. You are presented with scenarios you might meet when practising as a doctor. Each scenario encapsulates a professional dilemma and you are asked about dealing with it. The paper is designed to assess your understanding of appropriate behaviour for a doctor in difficult situations and allow you to demonstrate the application of competencies such as professional integrity, coping with pressure, and empathy and sensitivity. It does not require specific knowledge of general practice but does assume general familiarity with typical primary and secondary care procedures.
Your responses should represent appropriate behaviour for a second year Foundation doctor. Scoring is based on how close your responses are to the most appropriate response for the question. The most appropriate response is determined by a panel of expert GPs. We only include questions that have been tested and where there is a consensus among our expert panel regarding the most appropriate response to the situation. Applicants can score highly in these questions by providing an answer that is close, but not identical to that from the expert group. The closer your answer is to our experts responses the more points you will gain for the question.
This part lasts 75 minutes. The questions present clinical scenarios and require you to exercise judgement and problem solving skills to determine appropriate diagnosis and management of patients. This is not a test of your knowledge, but rather your ability to apply it appropriately. The topics will be taken from areas with which a Foundation Programme Year 2 doctor could be expected to be familiar. There are no questions requiring a specific knowledge of general practice.
Questions may be presented in a variety of formats and you will have to choose your answer from the given responses according to your clinical judgement. The examples available for download illustrate some of the question formats that may be used and the type of topics to be covered. Other question formats may be used when appropriate.
Download example Clinical Problem Solving and Professional Dilemma’s questions – some practice questions are also included!
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You can take a generic tutorial to familiarise
yourself with the controls and screen layouts in advance – see
www.pearsonvue.com/nro/ |
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Papers are NOT negatively marked so make sure you answer all the questions. |
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Read the instructions and questions carefully. |
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There may be times when you would like more information to answer questions. Just give your best answer given the information provided |
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Read the example questions carefully. If you feel you would benefit from revisiting some areas of knowledge or practice in order to be better able to show your capability then you should do this before the assessment. |
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We will provide a glossary where questions use terms or abbreviations
which are not in universal use or may be misunderstood by some
candidates. |
We understand that candidates may wish to revise and prepare for the Stage 2 assessments with each other in small groups. However, sharing information about the actual assessments is unacceptable and is viewed as unprofessional behaviour. The Stage 2 assessment uses a large number of different equated test forms and therefore knowledge of questions in one paper will not necessarily benefit others. We would also remind all applicants that entry to GP specialty training is competitive.
The Scoring and Psychometric properties of the previous assessments are available in our Download section.
All candidates will receive the result of their Stage 2 assessment shortly after the assessment has been concluded. Applicants who do not achieve the minimum required standard in either part of the Stage 2 assessment will not progress further.
Allocation to Stage 3 – (Selection Centre) We use the Stage 2 assessment result to rank all candidates and allocate them to a deanery for Selection Centre according to their rank and their deanery preferences. This forms our short listing process and ensures we achieve a fair distribution of candidates.
Deaneries will provide approximately 1.5 places at Selection Centre for every 1 vacancy. Applicants with the highest ranked scores will be allocated a Selection Centre place at their first choice deanery. If no Selection Centre places remain at the first choice deanery, applicants will be allocated a Selection Centre place at their second, third or fourth choice deanery if places are available there. If no Selection Centre places remain available at any of the applicant’s deanery choices, the applicant can not progress further. However, if Selection Centre places remain at other deaneries, the NRO may offer these instead.
Around 90% of short listed applicants are allocated to their first choice deanery. Usually all selection centre places at London and Northern Ireland (the two most highly competitive deaneries) are allocated to candidates who gave these deaneries as their first preference. Lower ranked candidates who give these deaneries, and possibly a few other competitive deaneries, as their first preference are more likely to be allocated to their second, third or fourth choice deaneries.
Applicants will only be invited to attend Selection Centre at one deanery and will be considered for a GP training programme at that deanery. Please read more about transferring deaneries here.
There is no facility to “link” applications with that of another GP applicant. However, if partners find that they have been allocated to different deaneries for Selection Centre, they should contact the NRO immediately. We may be able to arrange for you both to be assessed by the lower preferenced deanery and if we are unable to change Selection Centre we may be able to take this to account before making offers
Applicants will be notified if they are invited to Selection Centre via e-mail and will be able to book their Selection Centre place using the on-line application system.
Stage 2 assessment results will be e-mailed to all applicants around this time.
Once you have been allocated to a deanery for Stage 3 (Selection Centre), you will be asked to indicate your preferred geography or programme from those available at that deanery. Information about the programmes available within the deanery will be published on individual deanery web sites and will also be available at the Stage 3 Selection Centre. See Programme Allocation for more information about how deaneries allocate successful candidates to a particular geography or programme.
NEW PROCESS!Once you have been allocated to a deanery for Stage 3 (Selection Centre) we will email your referees and ask them to log on to a password protected referee portal and submit their references electronically. You will not be able to change your referee details after this. You will be able to check, via your candidate portal, if a reference has been received from each of your referees and you should chase them accordingly. The deanery will NOT chase your referees. All 3 references must be submitted before the deanery is able to make an offer to successful candidates |
Stage 3 – (Selection Centre) The Stage 3 Selection Centre involves candidates completing a number of exercises which are observed and assessed by trained assessors. This competency based selection process has been well researched and evaluated. We are confident that it is fair, robust and fit for purpose. More information about the Stage 3 Selection Centre assessments is available below.
If your referees have not submitted an on-line reference using the referee portal, you are required to obtain a hard copy and bring it with you to Selection Centre. You can download a Structured Reference Form from our Download section. References will not be considered until after the assessment process has been concluded but all 3 references must be received before the deanery is able to make an offer to successful candidates.
You will be required to provide photographic proof of identity such as a passport or driving licence. You will be asked to provide documentation relating to your right to work in the UK. You must bring your original medical qualification certificate and a photocopy of this for us to keep. If you do not currently hold a driving licence, you will be asked to confirm that you have suitable arrangements for attending emergencies and providing domiciliary care. You will also need to bring originals of the evidence you submitted to demonstrate achievement of foundation competency for verification. Deaneries will provide you with a full list of documents to bring once your Selection Centre place has been booked. You will be required to bring at least one photocopy of everything with you.
Dress Code
Recruitment and selection may involve contact with simulated patients
who should be treated as if they were patients, for clinical
communication, physical examination and assessment of clinical
performance. Conventionally in the UK, formal professional practice
between doctors and patients is appropriately marked by a certain
formality of dress. The same dress code will apply for selection centre
as it does for day to day clinical practice/contact with patients; this
means that forms of dress should not constrain the candidates’ ability
to demonstrate recognised skills. All doctors should ensure their
appearance does not impede with their professional roles and
responsibilities; including communication with patients, relatives,
carers and other staff. Inappropriately revealing styles such as;
low-cut necklines and mini-skirts, dangling jewellery/accessories and
hairstyles that may interfere with a physical examination, should be
avoided. Equally, forms of dress that cover the face will normally be
deemed inappropriate in such examinations.
Once you have registered and had your documentation collected and/or checked, you will have your photograph taken. This is simply to ensure that the assessors can identify you during the selection process.
During Selection Centre each candidate will have a number of opportunities to demonstrate some of the competences outlined in the National Person Specification. Each of these competences will be assessed more than once in a number of exercises which are observed and assessed by trained assessors. There are no interviews and assessors do not have access to your application form, your CV or any other biographical information. None of the GP assessors take part in or endorse any preparation courses or books. All the information you need to prepare for the GP Stage 3 Selection Centre is available on this web site.
All deaneries are aware of the requirements of the DDA and in this regard we will make all reasonable adjustments to accommodate disabled applicants at the assessment provided these are made known to us in advance. Applicants who require adjustments (wheelchair access or extra time for example) must inform the deanery of any special requirements at the earliest possible opportunity. Documentary evidence will be required. It may be necessary for the deanery to schedule a Selection Centre place at a specific time or in some cases it may be necessary for you to attend at another deanery. Extra time is only available for the written assessment at Stage 3. If you feel that there are any particular issues related to a disability need you may have that is covered by this, you MUST discuss these with the Deanery before the assessment as no adjustment can be made for any candidate afterwards.
Applicants should note that children are not
permitted at Selection Centre.
If you have satisfactorily demonstrated all the competences that are
being assessed, you will be awarded a rating based upon your performance
both at Stage 3 Selection Centre and the Stage 2 assessment. This is
used for ranking purposes and you will be made an offer of a GP training
programme subject to availability and your ranking. If no vacancies
remain in your allocated deanery, as a reserve candidate you may be
considered for remaining vacancies in any of your other preferred
deaneries through our local clearing system or elsewhere through our
national clearing system. See Local and National clearing for more
information.
If you do not satisfactorily demonstrate the competences that are
being assessed, we are unable to progress your application further in
the current round although there may be an opportunity for you to be
assessed again for any remaining vacancies in a second round. More
information about this is on our Round 2 page.
Feedback from Selection Centre will be sent to all candidates at the end of the recruitment process. If a second round is necessary, feedback from Round 1 will not be available until all recruitment activity in Round 2 has been concluded.
More about Stage 3 – (Selection Centre)The exercises at Selection Centre will change for 2011. There will no longer be a Group exercise but there will be three 10 minute Simulation exercises instead. The Written exercise will remain the same; the time allowed for this is 30 minutes. The competences that are assessed at Selection Centre are Communication Skills, Empathy & Sensitivity, Conceptual Thinking & Problem Solving and Professional Integrity. Please refer to the National Person Specification for more information about these.
These will involve simulators and 3 different situations - a consultation with a patient; a consultation with a relative or carer and a consultation with a non medical colleague. They do not involve a physical examination and clinical expertise is not specifically assessed.
The written exercise will usually require some prioritisation or ranking
of issues and a justification of your responses.
All exercises will have specific and individual written instructions,
with advice to spend time reading and being familiar with the
requirements of the exercise.
You can download examples of these Selection Centre Scenarios from our
Download section.
There will be a briefing session at the start of your Selection Centre
session and an opportunity for questions at the end of it; this is NOT a
feedback session. Feedback on your performance will be given later and
will be after the offers have been made.
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Be yourself and be natural. Do NOT “act”. |
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Listen and read carefully all instructions given on the day about the exercises |
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Be honest. |
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Trust the process which has always had excellent candidate evaluation; specifically the evaluation says the process is fair, even from those who are not successful first time. |
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Practice the example scenarios with your colleagues by all means but we do NOT recommend that you to book commercial courses or purchase advice and guidance books specifically aimed at doctors undertaking the GP Selection Centre. |
We understand that candidates may wish to revise and prepare for Stage 3 Selection Centre with each other in small groups and would encourage this. However, sharing information about the actual Selection Centre is unacceptable and is viewed as unprofessional behaviour. Assessments at Selection Centre are competency based and there is published evidence demonstrating that prior knowledge of the content and context of assessment does not positively affect performance. We would counsel candidates against altering their behaviour based on the advice of other applicants. We also remind applicants that entry to a GP specialty training is competitive.
Programme Allocation and Offer of TrainingProgrammes will be allocated to successful candidates depending upon ranking after Selection Centre, geographical or programme preferences, the availability of a suitable vacancy and the needs of the NHS. Applicants will be given information about the deaneries own allocation policy when they attend Selection Centre as this may vary between deaneries. Some deaneries may allow candidates to indicate if they have any geographical restrictions or special circumstances and will consider these when allocating programmes to successful candidates. Such candidates will be expected to provide documentary evidence and some circumstances may be considered more deserving than others.
Deaneries have a duty of care to patients that means it is sometimes necessary to ensure adequate cover in all deanery programmes, not just the most popular ones. In addition, the need to address patient safety, the requirement to meet the educational needs of all trainees and changes in service configuration, maternity leave etc. may mean that the available programmes within the deanery are not exactly the same as those published. Some deaneries will be able to offer a specific GP training rotation within the deanery and others will confirm the specific GP rotation only after offers have been accepted.
Please note that proposals to implement a single on-line system for all specialties issuing offers in 2012 has been deferred until 2013. Although some specialties will be using the new system, GP Offers for 2012 will be made by e-mail via the GP application system except for those being offered by Scotland who will be informed directly about the arrangements for Scotland.
All first offers in Round 1 will be issued by 9th March 2012. If you receive an offer you will have 48 hours (including bank holidays and weekends) to decide whether to accept it, reject it or hold. Offers will continue to be made from this date. You can hold an offer until 19th March 2012, but you can only hold one offer at a time.
Applicants whose immigration status would require an employer to
obtain a Certificate of Sponsorship can only be made an offer if there
are no remaining suitable UK/EEA candidates. Such applicants therefore
may not receive an offer until local and national clearing processes
have begun.
More information about the nationally co-ordinated offers process is
available on the MMC website at
www.mmc.nhs.uk
Local and National Clearing There will be applicants who, although considered suitable for GP Training, do not receive an initial offer from the deanery where they attended Selection Centre because they are not ranked highly enough for the number of posts available at that deanery. Such applicants are referred to as ”reserve candidates” and will be considered on a ranked basis for any posts that are declined within the deanery.
Deaneries will continue to make offers after 9th March as offers are declined. If you have not received a GP offer by 20th March, you may still be made an offer after this as declined programmes become available. This re-cycling of declined offers is known as “local clearing”. Local clearing will continue until either all programmes at the deanery have been accepted OR until all appointable candidates at the deanery have been exhausted.
Because we operate a national, standard selection process, it is possible for candidates who are not made offers in the deanery where they attended selection centre to be considered at other deaneries if places remain elsewhere. This is known as “national clearing”. The National Recruitment Office will attempt to offer all remaining vacancies to suitable reserve candidates from other deaneries where appropriate according to their overall ranking after Selection Centre and taking into account original deanery preferences. If vacancies still remain, the NRO will offer these posts to remaining reserve candidates irrespective of their original deanery preferences.
If there are any remaining GP training programmes after recruitment activity in Round 1 has concluded, we will re-advertise these in a second advertisement. All reserve candidates from round 1 will be considered through the local and national clearing processes before any offers are made in round 2. Reserve round 1 candidates (including those who require sponsorship due to immigration status) should not re-apply in round 2.
Appeals and ComplaintsThe National GP Recruitment process is carried out jointly by all
deaneries acting within an agreed framework, and supported by the
National GP Recruitment Office. There is an agreed process for dealing
with queries and complaints to which principles all Deaneries adhere.
Applicants to GP training and candidates who have any concerns about the process of administration of their application at any stage should seek to contact the deanery dealing with their application. Until allocated to a deanery for selection centre, this will be your original first choice deanery.
Deaneries will endeavour to clarify and resolve any concerns or queries as soon as possible and this process of clarification will be the first part of any complaint process for all applicants. Please note that deaneries will try to resolve any errors of process or administration under their control, unless this relates to errors that are the responsibility of individual applicants. Feedback will be given to all candidates about the outcome of their assessment at Stage 3 (selection centre), but it is not possible to address any complaints about the confirmed outcome of an assessment in the GP Recruitment Selection process.
For further information, candidates should obtain details of the Recruitment and Selection complaints process from the deanery responsible for the processing of their application. Contact details for each deanery are available from the deanery profile pages.
Remaining
vacancies (Round 2)If there are any remaining vacant GP training programmes after initial recruitment activity has been concluded, they will be re-advertised.
The recruitment and selection processes remain the same except that applicants will not be asked to indicate their deanery preferences until later in the process. We will ask you to choose your preferences only from those deaneries with remaining vacancies.
Deaneries that expect to have remaining vacancies are shown on our Available Programmes page. More information about specific vacancies will be published as soon as it is available. Competition ratio’s of re-advertised posts tend to be higher, as there are fewer vacancies available.
If you did not apply to GP initially, you can apply for any remaining re-advertised vacancies provided you meet the essential entry criteria. It is particularly important that you read the Stage 1 Eligibility Requirements and especially the requirement for demonstrating evidence of achievement of foundation competency. You will be required to attach your evidence of achievement of foundation competences to your application form.
You will need to register as a “new user” and then complete and submit the application form.
If you registered during the initial recruitment activity but did not actually submit an application, you can access a previous application form and then complete and submit it for any re-advertised posts. You will need to log on to the GP system as an existing user with the e-mail address and password you previously used to register.
If you did apply to GP during the initial recruitment activity, you can still apply for any remaining re-advertised vacancies. Use the link on your existing GP application tracker page to access a pre-populated application form. You can update all sections before you submit. Candidates re-applying should be aware of the following:
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If
your
initial
application failed to progress because you did not provide
satisfactory evidence of achievement of foundation competence, you
will be required to re-submit evidence in support of
your
new
application. |
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If
your
initial
application failed to progress because you did not achieve the
minimum acceptable standard in the
Stage 2 Assessment , we are unable to consider
a new
application
for any
re-advertised posts.
You cannot take this assessment more than once for the same
recruitment intake. You will be able to apply again next year. |
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If
your
initial
application failed to progress because you failed to demonstrate
satisfactory evidence of any competence at
Stage 3 Selection Centre, you can re-apply for any remaining
vacancies. The final outcome of your
initial
application will not be taken into account but the result from your
previous Stage 2 assessment will be carried forward. Your
application will be assessed in competition with all other
candidates, including
allocation to a deanery for selection centre. There is a chance
that you will not be allocated to any deanery if competition levels
are high. You will be required to successfully demonstrate all
required competences at a second Stage 3 Selection Centre if
invited. |
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All
appointable candidates
during initial
recruitment activity
will
be considered for any remaining vacancies through our
local and national clearing processes before any offers are made
through the
re-advertisement of posts.
It is not necessary for any “reserve” candidates
(including those who require sponsorship due to immigration status)
to re-apply. |
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Those applicants whose immigration status would require an employer to obtain a Certificate of Sponsorship will only be made an offer if there are no suitable remaining UK/EEA applicants. We will consider your immigration status as at the closing date for re-advertised posts. |
All key dates are given in the Recruitment Calendar. The timetable is very tight. You will need to make a note of the key dates as we are unable to extend any deadline in any circumstances. You are strongly advised to check your e-mail and the tracker page of your electronic GP application on a daily basis. You will be expected to respond to any requests immediately.
Offers of Employment & Pre-Employment Checks The offer and allocation of a Training Programme referred to above is NOT an offer of employment. An employment contract detailing the terms and conditions of employment will be issued by the responsible employing organisation and is made subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks. Your offer of employment will include the name of your employer, the start date and length of the period of employment, the location, the hours, the minimum rate of remuneration and the notice period applicable.
Information regarding pay, hours, sick pay and annual leave entitlements, notice period, study leave etc are set out in the national terms and conditions available from NHS Employers and for those based in a GP Training Practice, set out in the Directions to Strategic Health Authorities – also from NHS Employers. A framework for a written contract of employment for GP specialty registrars is also available from the BMA. Individual deanery websites may also provide additional local information and links to individual employer web sites.
All GP trainees will be entitled to join or continue as a member of the NHS Pension Scheme.
The employing organisation carry out a number of pre-employment checks before an offer of employment can be confirmed. These will include verification of identity, registration and qualifications, right to work (immigration), employment history and employment reference checks (these are different from the clinical reference checks that the deanery needs), a Criminal Record Bureau (CRB) check and an occupational health check. Some of these (verification of identify, registration and qualifications and right to work for example) may also be undertaken by the deanery during the recruitment process.
You are expected to take up any employment you have formally
accepted. You have a responsibility for patients and services and
patient care may be comprised if there is insufficient medical cover.
Failure to arrive for work on the start date could also affect patient
services and their care and may have an adverse impact on the working
conditions of medical colleagues. You are therefore expected to work
your contracted notice period and will be in breach of contract if you
do not work your notice. Refer to the GMC Good Medical Practice 2006
paragraph 49 and Sections 6.4 – 6.7 of the Gold Guide available on the
MMC web site www.mmc.nhs.uk
Your GP training programme is also offered on condition that you provide a “Confidential Transfer of Information Form” at your first meeting with your allocated education supervisor so that he/she is aware of any particular support or help you may need during your training programme. You can download a copy of this form from our Download section
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